Anna Zhao

    anna.whizh@yahoo.com

    TWO exhibitions of 110 paintings and 136 calligraphy and engraving works featuring the artistic perspectives and achievements of local artists are on display at the Guan Shanyue Art Museum through Sunday as a key cultural program of the city’s Creative December event.

    Under the theme of “painting Shenzhen,” the paintings capture the city’s natural landscape, the people and their lives against a backdrop of urban development through ink, oil, watercolors and printmaking. The painting exhibition, the 10th such event, pays tribute to local scenery and discovers local artistic strength.

    A painting of an old factory with smoking chimneys in a photographic rendering is reminiscent of Shenzhen in the last century as a frontier of opening up and reform. A painting of a vast patch of virgin land along a strip of blue coast is able to stir up visitors’ imagination of abundant fortunes lying on the fertile land and how the city has transformed from a fishing village to a modern metropolis.

    “Night at Mangrove Forest” is a surrealistic depiction of a scene in which human beings bathe in warm sunshine along the coast while birds flap their wings. The painting seems to send an alarming signal about the city’s dwindling natural habitat for the bird species. Among the paintings of human figures, laborers are a group that is frequently portrayed by artists. Yang Xiaoyang, vice chair of the Shenzhen Artists Association and an organizer of the painting exhibition, gave high praise for the quality of the exhibition because many of the exhibits are prize-winning items from art exhibitions at national and provincial levels.

    A wide range of styles of writings with Chinese characters is on display at the calligraphy and engraving exhibition.

    Li Jing, vice chair of the Shenzhen Calligraphers Association, said the exhibition is a summary of the progress of local calligraphers and will be developed into a professional platform. Li said that a major characteristic of the local calligraphy circle is that fresh faces with works of high artistic value are constantly springing up to supplement old blood, a phenomenon that is less common in other inland cities in China.

    Organizers said that the two exhibitions have seen a rising number of young artists make their names known through their works.

    Dates: Through Dec. 21

    Hours: 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

    Venue: Guan Shanyue Art Museum, 6026 Hongli Road, Futian District (福田区红荔路6026号关山月美术馆)

    Metro: Longgang or Longhua Line, Children’s Palace Station (少年宫站), Exit B