Female view
Art by women painters and sculptors from across the country are on display at the ongoing exhibition, Colors, at the Shandong Art Museum in Jinan, Shandong province. The show runs until March 17 and is held in celebration of International Women's Day, which falls on Friday. The Shandong Artists Association launched the annual exhibition in 2017 to encourage female artists and to offer them a platform for their talents. This year's show received more than 4,000 submissions, including pieces by art students. A selection of 200 artworks are on display, including commission works by well-established artists.
9 am-5 pm, closed on Mondays. 11777 Jingshi Lu, Lixia district, Jinan, Shandong province. 0531-8130-5063/6.
Cultural peak
Ink artist Huang Binhong (1865-1955), considered one of the major figures of modern Chinese art, spent a lifetime carrying on his country's cultural lineage while also maintaining a modern spirit and a universal outlook. Besides painting and calligraphy, he wrote, worked as an editor at publishing houses and magazines, taught at different schools, and ran an antique store. His busy social life allowed him to keep in touch with cultural circles, and to promote the Chinese ink tradition.
Immortal Legacy is an ongoing exhibition at the Art Museum of Beijing Fine Art Academy that sheds light on Huang's rich world of art, his belief in cultural tradition and the scope of his alternative role as a shrewd culture scholar. The show runs until April 21.
Huang's landscape paintings show his predilection for the scenery of southern China, where he grew up and spent most of his life. His flower-and-bird paintings depict a brand-new world of his own creation: serene, classic and soothing.
9 am-5 pm, closed on Mondays. 12 Chaoyang Gongyuan (Park) Nanlu, Chaoyang district, Beijing. 010-6502-5171.
Timeless beauty
The Tianjin Museum is known for its distinguished collection of classical paintings and calligraphy, making it one of the most prominent of its kind in the country. In celebration of Chinese New Year, Immortal Brushwork of Danqing, a long-term exhibition that opened in early February, brings together dozens of paintings ranging from the Song (960-1279) to Qing (1644-1911) dynasties.
Examples include a portrait of an aristocratic woman by Leng Mei, a pioneering figure of Chinese portraiture in the 17th and 18th centuries. Leng's paintings successfully convey the atmosphere and situations his subjects experienced, as well as reveal their moods and emotions.
9 am-5 pm, closed on Mondays. 62 Pingjiang Dao, Hexi district, Tianjin. 022-8388-3000.
Calligraphic sage
Lin Sanzhi is recognized as one of the leading calligraphers of the 20th century. In particular, his accomplishment at the fast flowing cursive caoshu script won him a large fan base at home and abroad.
My Admiration of Ancient Masters, an exhibition at the Anhui Art Museum, reviews Lin's endeavors in calligraphy, poetry and Chinese painting through which he built a connection with the spiritual worlds of past artists and sought new directions for the art form.
Lin is hailed as the "modern sage of caoshu script". His unique style was the result of four evolutions. The results are on show along with his engraved seals and collection of ink stones from the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). Landscape paintings are also on display and show how he made use of calligraphic techniques to present the vastness of nature.
9 am-5 pm, closed on Mondays. 1 Chengdu Lu, Binhu New District, Hefei, Anhui province. 0551-6280-6800.
