What's on

Diverse designs

Fashion designer and artist Ma Ke says our planet is the "source and destiny" of lives. A mission of her fashion house Wu Yong is the discovery, conservation and revival of Chinese folk arts and crafts, in which she sees intimate, harmonious relations between people and nature. Her work, Wu Yong/The Earth, is a collection of clothing inspired by the rich traditions of folk costumes she has encountered over the years during journeys across the country, especially in areas inhabited by minority ethnic groups. Ma says the goal of making her garments is to help viewers rediscover a simple, pure and genuine way of living, a life that has been lost to the high-paced pursuit of efficiency, as well as reconnect with a close, earnest link to lands maintained over centuries. Ma's cloth designs are on show as part of Convivial exhibition at Today Art Museum in Beijing, through Oct 8, which explores the communication of different life forms and conditions, and features eight designers and artists. Their works contemplate designs that are human-oriented, along with the relationships between digital technology and space, and artificial intelligence and machine consciousness. The diversity of their creative approaches paints a landscape of sustainability, marked by respect for nature, against a broad context of regeneration of knowledge.

10 am-6 pm, closed on Mondays. 32 Baiziwan Lu, Chaoyang district, Beijing. 010-5876-0600.

Pioneers of modern art

When looking at the artworks of great artists such as Pablo Picasso, Paul Cezanne and Camille Pissarro, people are caught by the vibrancy of colors used and the dynamics of composition. What is not so easily noticed is the experimental, pioneering spirit of the masters. Pioneers, an exhibition Levy Gorvy is staging at its Hong Kong space from Aug 26 through Sept 30, celebrates the innovative achievements of such modern luminaries. On show are The Church of St. James by Pissarro that also captures the hustle and bustle of city life; The Frog Pond by Maurice de Vlaminck, in which the use of colors and forms accentuates the pleasure of a couple enjoying refreshments at a waterside cafe; and The Kiss by Joan Miro that shows the artist's interpretation of changes in people's minds.

Ground Floor, 2 Ice House Street Central, Hong Kong. 852-2613-95684.

Natural wonders

The lens of Huang Chengjiang captures the grandeur of nature, such as the fertile black soil in Beidahuang in Northeast China and the vast forest of populus diversifolia that thrive on the Gobi Desert. He also zooms in on the inconspicuous corners of the world in which small pieces of nature, such as a lotus flower or a dove, persist in a quiet but impressive manner. Infinity in Oneness, now running at the Tsinghua University Art Museum through Nov 7, shows more than 100 photos broken down into four themes: the planet, tree, lotus and cape, and looks back at Huang's endeavors through the decades. Huang, who hails from Heilongjiang province, became interested in photography at age 19. His early snapshots present the vast landscapes of the north. After moving to Beijing in the 1980s, he traveled more and broadened his vision, adding romantic and humanistic perspectives to his works in which he contemplates the meaning of life.

9 am-5 pm, closed on Mondays. Tsinghua University, Haidian district, Beijing. 010-6278-1012.