Exhibition featuring city's heritage of modern art opens

Shanghai is the "cradle" of China's modern movement of oil painting and sculpture.

As such, "The Artistic Heritage," an exhibition featuring 35 local artists in the area of oil painting and sculpture, aims to reflect the zeitgeist pursued by different generations of Shanghai artists.

Featuring about 70 artworks created by artists who were born from the 1930s to the 1960s, the exhibition includes a cluster of big names such as Chen Yifei (1946-2005), Yu Xiaofu, Chen Danqing and Zhang Yonghao.

In fact, this is the third edition of "The Artistic Heritage." The first was unveiled in 2018 at Wu Changshuo Memorial Hall in the city.

"The exhibition renders an opportunity for visitors to have a clear clue of the development of realistic oil painting in Shanghai," said Liang Jinqing, one of the curators. "They will also find the endeavors of local sculptors through their works."

Ninety-year-old Zhang Zishen is the oldest participating artist, and his oil paintings have been collected by the Great Hall of People and Museum of Chinese History in Beijing.

"Spring Rain" and "Autumn" are the most two recent canvas created by him especially for this exhibition.

With no doubt, love and passion toward Shanghai have never faded under the brushstrokes of local artists.

Those familiar street scenes, Huangpu riverside, the Bund and the Suzhou Creek all reflect their personal memories and visual recording of the city.

Zhang Yonghao, 89, a well-known sculptor, also brings two sculpture works created between 1970 and 1980.

The smooth lines fused with modern concept in his work "Tai Ji" still shines today.

One of the highlights is "Girl" by Chen Danqing, a renowned artist who rose to fame for his realistic depiction of the Tibetan subjects in the 1980s. In the 1980s, Chen furthered his study in the US and returned to China in 2000.

This painting, created in 2021, is shown to the public for the first time.

Exhibition info:

Date: Through January 8 (close on Mondays), 10am–5pm

Venue: Jiu Di Shui Art Museum

Address: 1-2/F, Bldg C2, 198 Yizhou Rd