Chen Wen Hsi was born in Guangdong, China in 1906. His art training included both Chinese ink painting and Western oil painting. Specialising in ink painting, he was taught by Pan Tianshou and was influenced by the works of Xu Beihong, Mu Xi, Bada Shanren, Huang Shen, Wu Changshuo and Qi Baishi. He settled in Singapore in the late 1940s, and taught at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts and various Chinese middle schools in the 1950s where he was an influential teacher to many students. He eventually passed away in 1991. Besides being an early influential artist of Malaya (then Singapore and Malaysia), Chen is also considered to be a pioneer of Singapore art. He was proficient in both traditional Chinese ink and oil painting, and experimented with a variety of styles including Fauvism and Cubism."Gibbons" is a mature work from the 1970s by Chen, with his distinctive gibbons as a subject. This is also the largest known ink painting done by Chen. This is the only known example of a commissioned gibbons painting by Chen. This was considered a prestigious commission at the time, the first by CPF to inaugurate its new building at Robinson Road. The installation of the work into the lobby was covered by the local media. This work has been on display in the CPF lobby since it was first commissioned in the 1970s. It was included in the major Chen Wen Hsi survey exhibition held at the Singapore Art Museum in 2006.
