Chen chong swee biography for kids
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Chen Chong Swee
Chen Chong Swee was one of Singapore’s pioneering first-generation artists, and an influential art educator, writer and painter. Born in China in 1910, Chen migrated first to Malaysia then to Singapore in the early 1930s and became a key figure in the development of the Nanyang style. A passionate art scholar and activist, he taught art at various schools, nurturing not only talent but also a sense of place. An analytical and prolific writer, he wrote many essays that contained keen observations and discourses on all aspects of visual arts. A realist painter, he was the first to depict Singapore subject matter in traditional kinesisk ink as well as a pionjär in integrating Western and Chinese aesthetic traditions, painting the story of Singapore and its people with sensitivity and a sense of revelation.
Chen Chong Swee—a.k.a. Chen Zongrui and a.k.a. Chen Kai—was born in 1910 in Guangdong, China, and studied art at the Xinhua Academy of Fine Arts in Shanghai. In the
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Chen Chong Swee (1910 – 1985)
Chen Chong Swee, otherwise known as Chen Khai, was born in 1910, Chenghai County, Guangdong, China. He graduated from the Xinhua Arts Academy in Shanghai and Union High School in Shantou, China, before settling in Singapore in 1934. Known as one of Singapore’s pioneering first-generation artists, Chen was also an influential art educator and writer passionate about the state of arts in Singapore. Chen spent his early years in Singapore teaching at Tuan Mong High School and Chung Cheng High School before leading the Chinese Painting Department at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA), where he remained for more than 20 years. In 1952, Chen embarked on a five-month-long field trip to Bali, Indonesia, with the other Nanyang artists searching for a unique Southeast Asian artistic expression. Upon his return from Bali, Chen created one of his most famous works, Balinese Women. Proficient in a variety of mediums, including watercolour, oil
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Chen Chong Swee
Singaporean artist (1910–1985)
Chen Chong Swee (simplified Chinese: 陈宗瑞; traditional Chinese: 陳宗瑞; pinyin: Chén Zōng Ruì) was a Singaporeanwatercolourist belonging to the pioneer generation of artists espousing the Nanyang-styled painting unique to Singapore, at the turn of the 20th century. He was also one of the first artists in Singapore to use Chinese ink painting techniques to render scenery and figurative paintings of local and Southeast Asian themes.
Born in Swatow, Chen attended school at the Union High School in Swatow, China and graduated in 1929. He attended and graduated from Xinhua Academy of Fine Arts in 1931, and arrived in Singapore that same year. He taught art at various secondary schools, before becoming a lecturer of the Chinese ink painting department at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts. He advocated tradition in his Chinese ink painting style.[1]
Chen's training in Xinhua firmly grounded him in traditional princi