Tribute to an artistic pioneer

The signature work by Guan, Jiangshan Ruci Duojiao (How Beautiful the Motherland Looks). [Photo provided to China Daily]

The rest are on loan from five museums and cultural institutions in Guangdong, making the current show a rare collection of Guan's output from different periods of time.

Li Jingkun, deputy chairman of the Guangdong Artists Association, says that at the heart of the creations by Guan, and many artists of his time, is an unconcealed expression of emotion.

"He zoomed in on the daily life of the common people, and was sensitive to how they felt and what kind of art could comfort them. He was one of them, from the bottom of society," says Li. "This allowed him to innovate on classic Chinese paintings, and his landscapes like Jiangshan Ruci Duojiao created a buzz in the second half of the 20th century."

Guan Yi, founder of the Guangzhou-based Guan Shanyue Arts Foundation, says that one can't separate the development of Guan's style from the nourishment he received at the Chunshui Studio that was opened by Gao Jianfu, his mentor and the leader of the Lingnan Painting School in Guangzhou, in the early 1930s.

She says the painter caught Gao's attention when he attended an art course by him at Sun Yat-sen University, and showed the artist his paintings.

"Guan was then a poor primary school teacher. He couldn't afford the fees at Chunshui Studio," she says. "So, Gao took him in for free and even provided him with accommodation."

Gao and other Lingnan school painters endeavored to revitalize the classic painting style to be a "new national art of realism", focusing on the realities of ordinary people.