Biography

Being born into a family that is very involved in the arts and media industry, Chen Xi has always had a strong interest in this field since young, and is particularly intrigued by the visual arts. This strong drive continued pushing him through the years, as he continuously sought new ways to create his own art and explore different mediums. Chen Xi graduated from Nanyang Technological University, School of Art and Design Media in 2016, and has never stopped pursuing his passion of the arts.
He specializes in illustrations and watercolour works, and enjoys practicing his art whenever he is overseas. Through sketching and painting different sceneries, he allows himself to fully indulge in the present moment and remember every detail. His latest heritage series includes paintings of Katong Peranakan shophouses to the famous Tong Ah Eating house at Keong Saik street; and he aims to draw more significant landmarks, not just in Singapore, but across the globe.
Chen launched book, Xi the World, in 2017, which is a compilation of his sketches during his time in Mediacorp at Caldecott Hill. This book is particularly meaningful as he had fond memories of the place while growing up. Chen aims to write more books in the near future and dabble more into Urban Sketching. Chen also conducts art workshops to share his passion for the arts. The two latest workshops were called “Take-it-Easy” that was held in collaboration with a local café shop, and with the Singapore Biennale 2020 x Chen Yi Xi Urban sketching workshop.
Chen also acts and has appeared in various television programmes, in both Mandarin and English. His debut film was the movie “Wonderboy” in 2017 and has been acting ever since. He has also hosted various programmes, and most recently the SEA Games 2019. He was also a guest DJ for the local radio station for a period of time.

Chen recalls how his father inspires him to move into this field with the words "Why Wait, when you can create"; and strongly lives by it.