Paintings reveal progress of 3 artists in new show

The opening exhibition of N3 Gallery, on a quiet street deep in Beijing's 798 Art Zone, is as simple and straightforward as its title, Three Men Exhibition.

It shows dozens of works of three devoted painters: Xia Xiaowan and Ma Ke, both based in Beijing, and Mao Yan from Nanjing, eastern Jiangsu province.

Curator Cui Cancan says the exhibition is not intended to make a strong point: It's to be a sample of the periodic progress of the artists and is far from showing the artists' work overall.