Chen Wen Hsi

Sotheby’s Singapore, 1 October 2000, lot 116
Acquired from the above by the present owner
Private Collection, Singapore

Singapore, National Museum, 1982
Beijing, China Fine Arts Museum, 1987
Taipei, Musem of Fine Arts, 1990
Kaoshiung, Arts and Crafts Centre, 1991

Publication of 1956
Publication of 1983
Paintings by Chen Wen Hsi, The Old and New Gallery, Kaoshiung, Taiwan, 1991, colorplate 6
Chen Wen Hsi, Convergences: Chen Wen Hsi Centennial Exhibition, Singapore Art Museum, Singapore, 2006, P. 321, colorplate 54
Paintings by Chen Wen Hsi, The Old & New Gallery, 1991, colorplate 6 

This work is in very good overall condition as viewed. There is evidence of very light wear to the edges and corners of the work, due to abrasions with the frame, but these are only visible when the work is unframed. The paint layers are healthy overall. Examination under ultraviolet light reveals some small, minor spots of restoration scattered sporadically on the surface, as well as an area of restoration along the worker's proper left leg. Framed.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

“When I first studied art, I naturally didn't have any style or special feelings. It pleased me just to achieve lifelikeness. After quite a long time, we began to feel that we had to have a face of our own. How exactly are we to paint? How shall we do something more outstanding that what others do? These are the things we should pay attention to while painting … Every person has two eyes and a mouth. It is not right to simply portray something like this. I think we paint with more life if we observe the form taken on by the subject at a distance and put in the “spirit” it carries. What I paint goes beyond mere representation. There has to be “spirit” in it.” – Chen Wen Hsi (Convergences: Chen Wen Hsi Centennial Exhibition, Vol. I, Singapore Art Museum, Singapore, 2006, p. 29)

Admired as a remarkably versatile artist who synthesized an assortment of artistic traditions in his works, Chen Wen Hsi was a pioneering visionary at the birth of Singapore’s modern art era. To categorize his oeuvre as adherent to any particular style would be far too limiting, as the artist experimented with a myriad styles during his lifetime, including traditional Chinese ink painting, Post-Impressionism, Cubism and Abstraction to name just a few. In 1948, Chen Wen Hsi moved from his homeland of Shantou in Guangdong Province to pursue his career in art in Singapore and Malaysia. After a series of successful exhibitions in Southeast Asia, the artist decided to permanently reside in Singapore in 1949 and teach at the Chinese High School (1949–1968) as well as the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (1951–1959).

Chen Wen His and his compatriots Liu Kang, Cheong Soo Pieng and Chen Chong Swee made up the first wave of artist-migrants in Singapore. They integrated techniques ranging from artistic activity in China to the School of Paris, such that the final result was a fusion of Western, Javanese, Malay, Indian and Chinese traditions. As a multi-racial and cultural hub situated at the heart of Southeast Asia, Singapore was a city conducive for artists to merge old and new, east and west. Together, these artists became the founding members of the Nanyang art movement, ultimately modelling Singapore’s new artistic identity.

Though the present lot is not dated, it is likely that it was created in the 1950s, before it was published in the 1956 catalog, its earliest known appearance. This is further supported by the fact that the artist painted a number of street scenes and portraits in the Post-Impressionistic style immediately after his arrival in Singapore in 1949. Wen His’s early works during his time in Singapore, such as the present lot, serve as an important mark of his development as one of the most influential Chinese artists of his generation.

Wen Hsi was a man consumed by wanderlust, taking every opportunity to travel across urban and rural areas in Southeast Asia in order to garner inspiration for his paintings. This resolute search for new subjects allowed the artist to encounter indigenous people hailing from all walks of life and delve deeply into local markets, villages, and religious sanctuaries.

This oil painting serves as a pristine example of the artist’s attempt to represent a male human figure: a fundamental subject that refutes the burden of expectation. With thick, definite outlines, Wen Hsi delineates the subject’s bodily form, a Fauvist technique echoing that which was used by European artists such as Andre Derain and Henri Matisse. Using the line as a primary basis is practice that Wen Hsi would explore even further in his later works, such as the more brightly colored Mother and Child, which is far more cubist and fragmented rendering. Contrary to the more impressionistic The Worker, Mother and Child reveals that Wen Hsi would later break down his subjects into their basic, geometric forms. 

 

In The Worker, the contours of the youth’s lean body are highlighted with deep browns, reds, and blacks, mimicking the earthy tones of the land on which he works. Wen His imbues a sculptural quality to the painted subject by employing expressive and bold brushstrokes. Given the loosely painted brushwork used to color the negative space in the backdrop, it is evident that the artist was reconnoitering Western modernism.

 

A sense of reticence, intensified by his shut lips, pervades the unperturbed mood of the work. Though his shoulders are frontally positioned, the anonymous young worker mysteriously gazes obliquely from the canvas without acknowledging the viewer. He appears contemplative while enjoying a moment of rest, yet his eyes are sharp and alert, suggestive of the laborer’s focused mind and reliable nature. Through his vigilant body language, a sense of tension prevails.  

Though this painting reveals his pursuit of portraying humanist qualities that stirred him, the artist’s true métier was far more diverse. Wen Hsi would later voyage to other domains and further study various styles and subjects. Amongst his fellow cohorts, it was Chen Wen Hsi in particular who is recognized for his voracious appetite for fresh modes of expression, ultimately merging Post-Impressionist, Cubist, Fauvist and Abstract elements to represent Southeast Asian narratives. As a painter who prompted a new generation of young artists to rival his legacy, this early work is vital to our understanding the development of a painter whose works truly capture the ingenious spirit of the Nanyang movement.