Cao Zhen

caozhen0806@126.com

Contemporary gongbi paintings created by about 40 young Chinese artists are on display along with contemporary art installations at Guan Shanyue Art Museum, giving the museum’s annual gongbi exhibition a new twist.

The museum launched the “Youth Koans” project in 2014 to display young Chinese artists’ gongbi paintings. The careful realist technique in Chinese painting is characterized by highly detailed brushstrokes that delimit subjects very precisely. Paintings in this style are often highly colorful and usually depicts flowers and birds in ancient times. Now, however, the style has been updated to include illustrations of the modern world.

In recent years, many gongbi painters have started adopting light colors to reflect their thoughts on human relationships in cities or trigger questions on the relationship between nature and society.

For this year’s exhibition, three installations by artists Yang Guang, Huang Junwei and Lin Yusi are also exhibited along with the 90-plus paintings, creating a mixed artistic atmosphere of Oriental beauty and contemporary moods. “When we were preparing the exhibition one year ago, we were thinking of new possibilities for displaying gongbi paintings,” said Zhu Xiaojun, academic director of the exhibition.

“Shenzhen is an inclusive city, and Chinese gongbi painting is also embracing new ways of expression. The ‘Youth Koans’ offers a platform for young artists to grow, to express themselves and to explore new possibilities,” said Chen Xiangbo, director of Guan Shanyue Art Museum.

Dates: Until Dec. 29

Hours: 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

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