Wen Xi was born with a love for art, and growing up in the countryside, his carefree childhood life gave him more opportunities to explore and pursue many interesting and beautiful things, which nurtured his passion for painting. love. After graduating from middle school, he ignored his uncle's objection and decided to go to Shanghai Art College to specialize in art. Later, for some reason, he transferred to Xinhua Art College and studied under Pan Tianshou and other famous teachers. Four years later, he returned to his hometown to marry a wife. He went to Shantou Middle School to teach art, and also organized the Chunyang Painting Club to teach young people interested in art.
Wen Xi showed his artistic talent when he was young and held solo exhibitions in Shantou, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Shanghai and other cities. In 1937, China's Second National Art Exhibition held in Nanjing was even more appreciated and appreciated by Xu Beihong. In the same year, he was also listed as one of the top ten contemporary Chinese painters selected by British Studio Magazine.
In 1948, seeing someone successfully holding an art exhibition in Nanyang, he was moved all the way to Nanyang. He planned to stay for three months, but unexpectedly he settled down and taught at Huaqiao Middle School and Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts. During holidays, In his spare time, he traveled to various parts of Southeast Asia to collect painting materials. The folk customs of Bali and Java filled him with inspiration.
When it comes to creation, he can be said to be a rigorous painter. He gets up at 6 o'clock every day to paint for decades. School holidays are a good opportunity for him to concentrate on painting; if there is a dinner party, He often leaves early to go home and paint. Diligent self-study has enabled his painting skills to be constantly updated and improved.
Many years ago, Chen Wenxi laid his foundation in the international art world with his unique painting style that combines Chinese and Western styles. Among his many works, apes and egrets are his representative masterpieces. In order to paint apes, he raised six apes in his home garden and copied their shapes day and night. Later, just from the apes' jumping, chasing, tumbling and other movements, he could tell the origin of the apes, and other things such as painting fish, Birds, he also observes and paints like this day and night, and his serious painting spirit can be seen from this.
After retiring from the education sector in Singapore in 1968, he devoted himself wholeheartedly to creation. He has held more than 30 exhibitions in mainland China, Taiwan, Malaysia, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and other places. Second solo exhibition.
In 1975, the University of Singapore awarded him the title of "Honorary Doctor" in recognition of his contribution to fine arts, making him the first local painter to receive this honor. In addition, he was awarded the Public Service Medal by Singaporean President Yusoff in 1964, the Gold Medal from the Taiwan Museum of History in 1980, and the ASEAN Culture and Communication Award in 1987.