Realistic master-pieces may have become "fossils" at the Louvre in Paris, but realism never goes out of date in China, it's never a cliche.

The exhibition "Spirit and Novelty" features 227 contemporary realistic paintings at the Shanghai Art Museum. The works were selected from among 2,800 pieces nationwide.

Borrowed from the West, realistic oil painting has ripened in China for almost a century. Although realistic oil painting originated in Europe, Chinese artists today show more passion for it, says Zhan Jianjun, president of the Chinese Oil Painting Association.

"Realism may look like a simple technique or a pure artistic attitude. But it is a complicated combination of realism and abstraction, objectivity and subjectivity, time and space, reality and imagination," he says.

To many people, realistic paintings are "photo-like" artworks that demand superb skills. However, the paintings showcased here would change their mind.

"These vividly demonstrate an artist's taste and novelty," says Wang Yuhong, a young realistic painter.

For example, Shi Cong's female nude blurred in a torrent of water or Jin Shangyi's ancient poet are superb aesthetically, not only technically.

"I think Chinese realistic oil painting could reach a second high point of world recognition," says Ai Xuan, a Beijing painter renowned for his depiction of Tibetan girls. "It is just the same as ballet. Although ballet originated in France, today we all know the best ballet troupes are from Russia."

Today a major issue facing Chinese artists is not the lack of skill - to the contrary, they may rely too much on technique.

"We are short of a direct and sincere touch for people and how they live," says Xin Dongwang, an artist who focuses on migrant workers in the city.

How can reality be manipulated through skillful brushstrokes? Perhaps a realistic painter needs to immerse himself deeply in his surroundings.

Writer Anais Nin once answered this question about presenting reality: "We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are."

Date: through January 12, 9am-5pm
Address: 325 Nanjing Rd W.
Admission: 20 yuan
Tel: 021-6327-2829