Cao Zhen

caozhen0806@126.com

More than 80 screen printing works created by Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA) professor Zhang Guilin over the past 40 years are on display at the “Quest” exhibition. Entry is free.

Zhang plays a leading role in contemporary Chinese silkscreen printing. Favorite subjects of his are fish, imperial constructions in Beijing and old lanes that are now disappearing fast in the course of urbanization.

In his Beijing hutong (lanes) series, he tends to focus on trivial subjects — such as a rusty bicycle, a spitball on the ground or a paper plane — against a backdrop of grey brick walls or tile eaves in a record of his childhood memories.

He once explained the reason for making fish-themed prints, saying that life originates from the sea, and fish and water form a mutual relationship with each other. He would like to show viewers something mysterious and original by depicting the different shapes and colors of fish.

Born in Beijing in 1951, Zhang graduated from the CAFA in 1978 and then began teaching there. As a pioneer of Chinese modern screen printing, he participated in the founding of the first screen printing studio on the Chinese mainland in the early 1980s, the CAFA Screen Printing Studio. He not only cultivated professional students for the academy but also trained a batch of talented artists and teachers for other schools and organizations.

Zhang has amassed an ample list of national awards and exhibitions overseas. His works have been collected by top domestic art museums and foreign counterparts, such as the British Museum, Museum Ludwig, Portland Museum of Art and Autonomous University of Madrid.

Dates: Until Nov. 20

Hours: 9 a.m.-5 p.m., closed Mondays

Venue: Guan Shanyue Art Museum, Futian District (福田区关山月美术馆)

Metro: Line 3 or 4 to Children’s Palace Station (少年宫站), Exit F2