Frame size: 196 x 122.6 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. 'Malayan Scenery' is an example where Chen has made full use of the dramatic power of the brush in Chinese painting, to depict a distinctly local setting. Although Chen adopts a Western fixed-point perspective in this work, the traditional vertical format gives full play to the fishing nets hung out to dry.
