The ‘Observer’ 20th Century Chinese Painting Special Exhibition

As a traditional painting form, Chinese Painting embodies the ancients’ understanding of nature, society, politics, philosophy, religion, morality, literature and art. It underwent a revolution full of ups and downs when ‘Western Learning’ entered China alongside ‘Western Painting’ in the early 20th century. The past century has witnessed the clear evolution of Chinese Painting from ‘doubting the tradition’ and ‘transforming the tradition’ to ‘reminiscing on the tradition’, and also the fierce collision between Chinese and Western concepts, such as tradition and progress, non-science and science, freehand brushwork and realism.

The ‘Observer’ – 20th Century Chinese Painting Special Exhibition presented by Jiangsu Art Museum has selected 200 masterpieces of Chinese paintings by famous modern artists including Fengzi Lyu, Daqian Zhang, Changshuo Wu, Baishi Qi, Beihong Xu, Hufan Wu, Binhong Huang, Keran Li, Songyan Qian, Tianshou Pan, Baoshi Fu, Yanshao Lu, Guanzhong Wu, Zhou Huang, Dayu Chen and more. The exhibition showcases the transition of Chinese painting style in the 20th century while splits into three sections – ‘Doubting the Tradition: Reform and Revolution (1900-1949)’, ‘Transforming the Tradition: Transforming Chinese Painting and Chinese Painters (1950-1979)’ and ‘Reminiscing on the Tradition: The Revival and Reconstruction of Tradition (1980-1999)’. Whether it was the dilemma of collision between Chinese and Western cultures in the early 20th century, or exploring characteristics of the new era in the mid-20th century, or contention and reflection on Chinese Painting after reform and opening-up of China, Chinese Painting has constantly transformed, progressed and innovated throughout its history of development.