Frame size: 117 x 64.3 cm
Born in China, Chen Wen Hsi settled in Singapore in 1949 and taught at Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts in the 1950s. Chen was instrumental in the development of the Nanyang Style and is recognised as one of the pioneer artists of Singapore, together with Chen Chong Swee, Georgette Chen, Cheong Soo Pieng and Liu Kang. Highly influential, Chen Wen Hsi is regarded as the doyen of Singapore Chinese-brush artists. Although he painted mainly in Chinese brush, he often ventured into a cubistic style, executed in either oil or ink. An ardent student of nature, Chen is best known for his paintings of gibbons and animals developed from the Lingnan style. Chen is known to have created a series of more abstract ink paintings, which make greater use of washes and colour fields to suggest landscapes. 'The Mountain is Green', executed on gold paper, is a good example of this manner of painting. This painting is done in the traditional painterly mode, with emphasis on building up form through layer upon layer of texture strokes (cun fa).
