Art beat in August

Eye for beauty

Oscar winning artist Tim Yip will give a public lecture at Fangsuo Commune on Aug 19 to share the stories behind his pursuit of beauty in movies and theatrical performances. Since working on his first film, A Better Tomorrow directed by John Woo in 1986, Yip has become a leading costume designer and art director, introducing Chinese culture to the world with his New Orientalism aesthetics. He won the Oscar for best art direction and the British Academy Film Award for best costume designer with his work in Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. Last year, he designed the glamorous stage for dancer Yang Liping's dance drama The Peacock and designed costumes for Stan Lai's drama A Dream Like a Dream.

7:30 pm-9:30 pm, Aug 19. Fangsuo Commune, TaiKoo Hui Shopping Mall, 383 Tianhe Road, Tianhe district, Guangzhou. 020-3868-2327.

Images of the Amazon

Amazonia del Peru, a four-day show next week, celebrates the natural heritage region of the mighty river, described as "the lungs of the world". The photo exhibition at the Latin American and Caribbean Center opens at 4 pm on Aug 19, and at 5 pm the film La Travesia de Chumpi by Fernando Valdivia will be shown. The embassy of Peru will present three additional documentaries from the region at 7:30 pm on the next three nights. Wednesday night's film will be preceded with a talk titled "The beauty of the Amazon of Peru" by Leon Chen, the executive director of Operation Earth.

J Space, Latin American and Caribbean Center, Sanlitun SOHO, 8 Gongti North Road, Building 5, Beijing. 010-5785-3015.

Action-packed film premieres soon

[Photo/China Daily]

In Unbeatable, Hong Kong director Dante Lam introduces viewers to the thrilling world of mixed martial arts. Veteran actor Nick Cheung and rising star Eddie Peng spent months training and learning from professionals before the filming started. Their action sequences are probably the most authentic and exciting on mainland screens. Cheung's performance won him best actor at this year's Shanghai International Film Festival. The award honors not only his martial arts work, but also his convincing portrayal of an aging mixed martial arts player fighting to win back his former glory. The film will premiere on Aug 19.

Exhibition inspired by Li Keran

[Photo/China Daily]

The National Art Museum of China is presenting the first exhibition from the Li Keran Academy of Painting. Li Keran (1907-89) was a giant of modern Chinese art history, who combined traditional Chinese ink painting with Western style and painting techniques. In 2012, art educator, sculptor and Li's wife Zou Peizhu initiated the founding of Li Keran Academy of Painting, which boasts 100 renowned Chinese artists as its council members and researchers. The exhibition is composed of three parts. The first part features 60 pieces of Li's representative works. The second part examines the art of the council members and researchers of the academy. And the third part invites 100 Chinese landscape artists to present their new works.

9 am-5 pm, until Aug 19. Hall 2, 4, 6, 19, 20 and 21, National Art Museum of China, 1 Wusi Street, Dongcheng district, Beijing. 010-6400-1476.

Student art show

[Photo/China Daily]

The Today Art Museum is presenting 2013 Caissa Rising Artists - the 8th Exhibition for Nominated Students from Art Academies. Started in 2006, the annual show presents finalists for the public-art award hosted by the nonprofit museum and dedicated to college students. This year's exhibition is entitled Roam and Art, which is composed of two sections - Heartbeat and Arrival. The first part includes all kinds of art and expression, while the latter focuses on video art. The 157 exhibited works, including 137 paintings and 20 video works, were selected from 7,000 entries by 3,000 student candidates from all over the world.

10 am-6 pm, until Aug 19. 3rd Floor of Hall 1, 2rd Floor of Hall 2, and Hall 3, Today Art Museum, Building 4 Pingod Community, 32 Baiziwan Road, Chaoyang district, Beijing. 010-5876-0600.

Joint show

ShanghArt Gallery is presenting a group exhibition at its main venue for the summer. Featured artists include Hu Jieming, Liang Yue, MadeIn, Mao Yan, Yang Fudong, Yu Youyan and Zhou Tiehai. Paintings, photos, videos and installation projects are all exhibited.

10 am-5 pm, until Aug 19. ShanghArt Gallery, Building 16, 50 Moganshan Road. 021-6359-3923

Legacy of the brush

The National Art Museum of China is presenting the second exhibition under the title Inheritance of Ink and Brush, with a display of calligraphy works that occupies its center hall and the whole of the exhibition space on the third floor. Most participating calligraphers were born in the 1940s and earlier, growing up under strict disciplines of calligraphy. The exhibition is one of several diverse educational programs that make the traditional art easily accessible to the public, including master classes for children, a lecture on seal-cutting and a children's calligraphy exhibition.

9 am-5 pm, no entrance after 4 pm, until Aug 19. National Art Museum of China, 1 Wusi Dajie, Dongcheng district, Beijing. 010-6400-1476.