Admire Wang Chuan's abstract paintings in Pingshan

Abstract paintings by Wang Chuan are on display at Pingshan Art Museum. Photos from Pingshan Art Museum

“Wang Chuan: Circumference” is the fourth exhibition of Pingshan Art Museum’s Shenzhen Contemporary Artists Series. Curated by Jiang Jun, the exhibition displays 23 paintings created by Wang Chuan since 1985.

Born in 1953, Wang was a key figure in the Scar Painting movement in the late 1970s. A traditional Chinese painting graduate from Sichuan Fine Art Institute, he began his career as a realist painter and turned to abstract painting during the 1985 New Wave period.

He described his early interest in abstract art as an obsession that bordered on the sadistic, and referred to his struggle between art and life as a solitary and searching journey. In recent years, Wang’s works have truly become the records of a meditative life.

In the artist’s battle against cancer, his simple gestures such as racing a brushstroke across the page shines with preciousness of life.

A painting by Wang Chuan.

“From the monumentality of structure to the fragility of a breezy line, Wang Chuan’s art enhances the richness of everyday experience by turning fleeting moments into landscapes of the mind,” as art critic Johnson Chang puts it.

“Wang was not only influenced by Modernism from the West, but also inherited Chinese aesthetics. From ink painting and calligraphy to oil painting, he continues his endeavors in Chinese and Western art,” said Jiang.

“Shen Shaomin’s Brief History of Science,” the third exhibition of Pingshan Art Museum’s Shenzhen Contemporary Artists Series, is also being held. The exhibition reflects Chinese artist Shen Shaomin’s understanding of the world, including his doubts on scientific development.

The ending dates for both exhibitions have not yet been announced.

Hours: 9 a.m.-5 p.m., closed Mondays

Booking: WeChat account “PingshanArtMuseum”

Venue: Pingshan Art Museum, Huide Road, Pingshan District (坪山区汇德路坪山美术馆)

Metro: Line 14 to Pingshan Square Station (坪山广场站), Exit D1