Milan showcases a century of Chinese art

There is a section dedicated to artists who, according to the curator, deserve greater international attention. Many of the works featured in it demonstrate brilliant coloring skills, wit and playfulness. Among them are large-scale pop artworks by the Jinan-born Xu Deqi (b 1964), in which women wearing heavy makeup and oversized spectacles appear against the backdrop of antique blue-porcelain-style landscapes. Images from his Beauty and the Beast series show women walking the streets with a big cat, like a leopard or a Bengal tiger, on a lead.

Also featured is the figurative artist Xin Haizhou (b 1966). His acrylic painting canvases are peopled with imposing figures, looking back at the viewers with large, scrutinizing eyes.

Luo Zhiyi (b 1967) is an artist poised between abstraction and realism. Remnants of exploded fireworks are strewn across white canvases in a way that brings to mind torn flowers. Images of firework debris evoke a sense of calm, the canvas becoming a meditative space in the wake of revelry.

Zhang Hongmei (b 1973) uses cloth and acrylic on canvas, making a powerful statement with her City Speed series. With a style echoing that of the French cross-disciplinary artist Sonia Delaunay, Zhang's works are located at the confluence of painting, fashion and textile design, sculpture and video art.