JIN YUCHENG, a Shanghai writer, best known for his novel “Blossoms,” is showing off his creativity in another field — painting — with a solo exhibition being held at Parkland Art Center One Shenzhen Bay.

“Blossoms: Jin Yucheng Solo Exhibition” showcases 260 paintings Jin created in the last 10 years. He adopts a surrealistic approach to depict his observations of how city life has reshaped people’s emotions and mentality, dwelling on the truth underlying the blooming metropolitan scenes. Some of his sketches, although monochromatic but full of vivid details, accentuate the mixed atmosphere of a metropolis: quiet yet sleepless, slowly-paced in somewhere, yet hustling in elsewhere.

The 71-year-old author was an editor of the Shanghai Literature magazine for decades before publishing “Blossoms” in 2012. The novel is centered on the life of three young men from different backgrounds and neighborhoods in Shanghai in the second half of the 20th century. A recipient of multiple national literary awards, the novel has been adapted into a TV series directed by Wong Kar-wai.

Back in 1969, Jin was sent to Heilongjiang Province to work on farms, and it was during this period that he chanced upon an architectural drawing tutorial. After returning to Shanghai in 1976, he worked in a clock factory and spent half a year learning to do mechanical drawing.

Jin started to take painting seriously when he made a series of illustrations for “Blossoms.” The sketches outline the age-old landscape of Shanghai, and blend the past and present, fiction and facts. “Jin’s visual expression covers a variety of subjects and techniques. Either through text or painting, he is dedicated to the search for the distinctive tonality of things, in the hopes of catching the sparkle in a multitude of events and characters,” Xie Xiaodong, curator of the exhibition, said.

Dates: Through May 5

Hours: 10 a.m.-6 p.m., closed Mondays

Tickets: 101 yuan per person, 160 yuan for two persons, 230 yuan for families

Venue: Parkland Art Center One Shenzhen Bay, Zhongxin Road, Nanshan District (南山区中心路鹏瑞深圳湾1号艺术中心)

Metro: Line 2 to Dengliang Station (登良站), Exit C (SD-China Daily)