Evolutionary spirit

The Gu Yuan Art Exhibition, which runs through Nov 26 at the Central Academy of Fine Arts, marks the centennial of the artist's birth. He taught at the Beijing academy for several decades, and the show features more than 300 prints, watercolor paintings, drawings and sketches from his oeuvre-from his time in Yan'an throughout the following decades up until his death in 1996.

Along with the artist's personal items and photos, the exhibited works help the audience to embark on a trip back in time to his active years, where they are able to trace the evolution of the styles in Chinese art since the 1930s. It begins with works reflecting the toils of people and their engagement over the course of national liberation, before moving onto the works created after 1949 depicting scenes of booming socialist construction and agrarian landscapes, demonstrating a shift in tone from highlighting revolutionary enthusiasm toward progress and development.

Fan Di'an, chairman of the China Artists Association, says Gu Yuan developed a fresh, vigorous form that became one of the most recognized styles of art after the founding of New China. "His works present a unity of realistic concerns, a national spirit and a lyrical feeling to impose an enduring influence on the later generations of artists."