TIANJIN

Confusion in big cities

Ink painter Li Xiaoxuan holds a solo show of his ink-and-water paintings featuring figures at Distance Gallery in Tianjin. Titled Inking Technique Society, the show highlights large scrolls of modern men and women in a limited space, such as on a bus and in a stock house. Since the 1990s, Li has been depicting people who live in big cities and have been neglected by others to express their confusion, anger and helplessness. Li is director of the Chinese painting school at the Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts.

10 am-5 pm, until March 17. Building 3, Jinwan Square, Heping district. 022-2321-9189.

SHANGHAI

Reflecting light

Japanese artist Hitomi Uchikura is having her first exhibition, Lumiere, in Shanghai. Uchikura was inspired by a pile of glass pieces from a broken mirror, which reflected beautiful light from the sun and lit up her studio. Later on, when traveling around the world, she continued to have great interest in the movement of light. The exhibition features photography and digital installations.

10 am-6 pm, Feb 7-March 22. Shun Art Gallery, 28 Moganshan Lu (Road), Putuo district. 021-5252-7198b.

Small is big

Small Is Beautiful is the sixth edition of a series of annual thematic exhibitions at Leo Gallery, presenting delicate small-scale works by artists from China, Japan and the US. In a world that strives to make things bigger and complex, the gallery wants to move in the opposite direction, showcasing small, delicate and ornate master pieces covering various genres, including painting, installation, sculpture, photography and new media.

10am-5pm, Jan 25-Mar 31. Leo Gallery, 376 WukangLu (Road), Jing'an district.021-5465-8785.

 Melding of cultures

Mark Bradford, an artist based in Los Angeles, is presenting his first museum exhibition in Asia. Three monumental collage paintings fill each of the gallery floors of the museum. These exuberant new works titled The Tears of a Tree, Falling Horses and Lazy Mountain are inspired by the artist's visits to Shanghai and what he found to be the dynamic melding of disparate cultures, economies and functions in the city.

10 am-6 pm, Tue-Sun, Jan 31-May 3. Rockbund Art Museum, No 20 Huqiu Lu (Road), Huangpu district. 021-3310-9985.

Inspired by Columbus

Mysteries of Columbus is the name of the first exhibition of Spanish artist Cristobal Grabarron in a public museum in China. Grabarron did lots of research about Columbus and found in his voyage log descriptions of exotic creatures, and created the series of sculptures from the inspiration. The artist has donated the largest piece to the China Art Museum, Shanghai.

9 m-6 pm, until July 16. China Art Museum, Shanghai, 205 Shangnan Lu (Road), Pudong New Area. 400-921-9021.