Helen Deng

    GUAN SHANYUE Art Museum is holding an exhibition of photos of Guan Shanyue to commemorate the 100-year birth anniversary of the beloved Cantonese artist.

    The photos were taken by Xinhua News Agency journalist Chen Xuesi, who tracked Guan’s life for two decades and recorded many touching moments.

    Chen has donated his photos to Guan Shanyue Art Museum, which has selected 63 of them for the public show.

    The photos stir nostalgia for the old days and are of great historic value for research of Guan’s art.

    To help visitors get a better understanding of the late artist, the museum is showing footage of Guan’s art, as well as pictures of Guan taken by a co-worker, a friend and a relative, complete with illustrations.

    Guan Shanyue was a prestigious artist, educator and master of the Lingnan School. He devoted 813 of his works to Shenzhen, which later set up a museum named after him.

    Guan studied under Gao Jianfu, founder of the Lingnan School of Chinese painting, while teaching at a primary school in the 1930s and is considered the second-generation master of the Lingnan School.

    The Lingnan School is a uniquely Chinese blend of local and foreign influences. Painters of the school were tied to some of the more exciting political events of the 20th century. For example, after several years of studying in Japan, Gao, the founder of the school, became part of Sun Yat-sen’s revolutionary government. Guan himself was considered an active participant in later revolutionary art activities.

    Guan is best known for his landscape paintings. He helped build several important art museums in Guangdong, including Guangdong Art Museum, one of the best art museums in China. He taught art in Guangdong for more than 50 years and his disciples include Chen Jinzhang, Lin Yong and Wu Zehao, the best contemporary Lingnan artists.

Guan passed away in 2000.

Time: 9 a.m.-5 p.m., March 31-April 22, closes on Mondays

Venue: Guan Shanyue Art Museum, 6026 Hongli Road, beside Lianhua Hill Park, Futian District

Metro: Children’s Palace Station (少年宫站), Exit B