Chen Tian (right) presents at the exhibition. Photo: Coutersy of Chen Tian

 An exhibition of Chinese painter Chen Tian's works kicked off at the Wenlifang Gallery in Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong Province, on Saturday. An artist belonging to the Lingnan School of painting, Chen seeks to explore new means of expression within this traditional school of art.

The Lingnan School of painting, also called the Cantonese School, is a style of painting from the Lingnan area of China, which encompasses the provinces of Guangdong and Hainan, the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Hong Kong and Macao administrative regions. Influenced by West European visual arts and China's early Qing Dynasty(1644-1911) painter Yun Shouping, the Lingnan school of painting was revolutionary and innovative compared to other traditional Chinese painting schools.

The Art of Lingnan School exhibition, which runs until November 22, displays more than 70 of Chen's artworks divided into three sections - landscape, flowers and birds, and the Seven Chinese Sages of the Bamboo Grove.

Chen has committed himself to researching traditional Chinese painting techniques, but breaks the inherent methods of using ink and colors in the old art school to bring new vitality to the ancient art.

His works have been well reviewed by Chinese art critics. Xue Yongnian, a professor at the Central Academy of Fine Arts, said that the traditions of the Lingnan painting school is continued and evolved in Chen's works, which he finds fresh, with innovative changes generated from traditional study. 

"Chen has provided a certain way and possibility for Lingnan painting and even Chinese painting in the new era with his brave art exploration," Xue noted.

The Lingnan school is listed along with the Beijing, Tianjin,  and Shanghai schools as the three pillars of modern Chinese painting.

Chen has studied in Japan and has held exhibitions in many different regions around the world, including the US and Australia.