Ink exploration

Pathway to Art, an exhibition of classical paintings and oil works, shows artists who have, since the 1980s, striven to uphold ink traditions or explore Chinese approaches to oil painting. The exhibition, until July 18, at the Chinese Academy of Oil Painting, features prominent painters, including Jin Shangyi and Yang Feiyun, who are known for bringing the art form, which was introduced to the country more than a century ago by European missionaries, into a Chinese context. Their works, while retaining an academic, figurative tradition, attest to the aesthetics of Chinese culture, and the values and emotional needs of the domestic audience. The ink paintings on display show a different course in which painters try to invigorate the traditional style with an experimental spirit, like their predecessors did in the early 20th century.

9 am-5 pm, closed on Mondays.1704 Wenhua Xindajie, Gaobeidian, Chaoyang district, Beijing.

Natural talent

The mountain-and-water genre of classical Chinese paintings was a major style adopted by ancient artists to celebrate the magnificence of natural landscapes. The paintings also expressed their visions of a perfect lifestyle, as well as views on relations between humans and nature and the role of cosmology. Magnificent Mountains& Rivers, an exhibition at the Shenyang Palace Museum, until Oct 20, shows selected centuries-old landscapes from its collection. Depicting natural wonders, relic sites and architecture, artists of previous generations not only shared the amazement of what they saw in journeys, they also added imagination to create a world in which they led a seclusive, serene and cultural life to achieve a mental state of perfection. Besides the ink paintings, the exhibition also shows other types of artifacts themed on landscapes, such as ceramics and carved lacquer objects.

8:30 am-5:30 pm, closed on Mondays. 171 Shenyang Lu, Shenhe district, Shenyang, Liaoning province. 024-2484-3001.