The Straits Times: No bouquets please
Real flowers will ‘steal the limelight’ from his works, Singapore artist says
Original publication: The Straits Times
Author: Lee Sze Yong
Date: August 11, 2005
Republished for archival and informational purposes
If you plan to visit homegrown artist Chen Shi Jin's exhibition, skip the flowers.
He has specifically asked that people not send bouquets after his first solo Chinese painting exhibition in 1994, where he received, he says, too many flowers.
Considering that he works mainly on nature and pastoral themes, the request may seem strange. But the part-time lecturer at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts explains: "I don't want my friends to waste money on me. Besides, the real flowers will steal the limelight from my paintings."
Chen will hold his fourth solo art exhibition, Chinese Ink In The Tropics, from August 24 to 31, 2005.
Chen, 46, won the winner of the United Overseas Bank Best Painting of the Year award in 1996.
A Kampung Childhood
His love for Mother Nature stemmed from his childhood days in an Ang Mo Kio kampung, where he spent hours sketching chickens and plants. While he received good grades for art, he would scrape through other subjects. That made him more determined to excel in painting.
"At the age of 16, you start to wonder what to do with your life, and I knew I had nothing to show, save for a little aptitude in painting," he recalls.
After completing secondary school, he took full-time lessons from local artist Nai Swee Leng. His family was not happy with his decision to pursue art.
"To my family, working as an artist is not a proper job," says Chen, the seventh of 10 children. "It is like lazing around the house."
Despite their reservations, his elder siblings helped pay for his studies in Hangzhou at the Zhejiang Academy of Fine Arts (now known as the China Academy of Art).
A Narrative Style in Ink
While trained in traditional Chinese painting, Chen prefers a narrative style to the more abstract form. Combining classical Chinese ink brush techniques with pastoral themes, he captures the life of the tropics in swift but detailed strokes. Bright colours are also a common feature in his works.
"I paint to make people happy," he says. "If you want to do a commentary on society, the pen works better than the brush. Paintings should celebrate life."
To find inspiration, he travels every year with his wife of 21 years (as of 2005), artist Kong Yin Leng. While she specialises in human portraits, the couple splits up upon reaching their destination: he takes in the landscape while she approaches the locals to be her models.
They may not paint together, but they try to hold joint exhibitions every five years. The last time they did so was in 2000.
As Kong was at the time taking a full-time Chinese language correspondence degree, Chen was going solo for his 2005 exhibition. That exhibition featured his impressions of village scenes in China, Malaysia and Indonesia, as well as the streets of Paris.
"When my wife finishes her course in a couple of years, the husband-and-wife team will make a comeback," he promised.
Exhibition Details (as originally published)
Chen Shi Jin – Chinese Ink In The Tropics
Solo Art Exhibition
Venue: Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts Building, Exhibition Hall
Dates: August 24 to 31 (daily)
Time: 11am to 7pm
Admission: Free
This article was originally published in The Straits Times on August 11, 2005, written by Lee Sze Yong. It is republished here for reference and archival purposes. All rights remain with the original publisher.
