Chen Kezhi: a prestigious oil painter and a household name in Chinese fine arts circles, is adding luster to the cultural prosperity of the country with his artistic efforts. The latest sensation is over his masterpieces of the Three Gorges area. Since 1996, he has devoted himself to the Three Gorges series. These paintings reproduce the original impression of the Three Gorges area that will never be seen again. The paintings deliver the mystic atmosphere of the orient and the majestic scenery of China. Chen recently sat down with Beijing Review reporter Huang Jun to share his views and experience on these masterpieces.

Beijing Review: Why did you choose the Three Gorges as the major subject of your paintings?

Chen Kezhi: The Three Gorges belongs to China, as well as to the world. My passion to portray this wonder springs from my deep affection for the eternal nature and cultural heritage of human beings. Having grown up fed with the water from the Yangtze, I have always been pondering what I can do for the mother river. How should we carry forward the spirit that the rolling river embodies? How should we perpetuate the myth that the Three Gorges is acting in a rich and colorful manner? For a decade, I have traveled to the Three Gorges many times and this has enriched my life experiences. As a result, it has become a major duty for me to incorporate the Three Gorges into the history of art.

What do you perceive are the problems in contemporary realistic oil painting?

Realistic painting by no means refers to mechanical replication of reality. Through hard work of several generations, the achievements of Chinese oil painters have run neck and neck and even outstripped that of their American and European counterparts. However, they have lost favors in the market, resulting in my dark opinion about its future development. It's awkward that nowadays few people are willing to dedicate themselves to learning and educating themselves in the realistic arts. But I hold a firm belief in the future of art, as art will touch the deep parts of the soul.

You have spent a decade on the Three Gorges series. How do you construe the weight of time on the expressiveness of paintings?

I was engaged with historical painting when I was still a student, and switched to mysticism in the 1980s and then the Three Gorges series in the 1990s. My painting style has been moving forward with the times, but not completely straying from the past. Living in a continuously moving society, we are supposed to make artworks contemporary. I would like to refine my artworks with the combination of ancient and modern scents. I would not drop my paintbrushes.

Continua Beijing

From January 1 to March 30, 2008, Continua Beijing will host a solo exhibition of Italian contemporary art master Michelangelo Pistoletto for the first time.

Born in 1933, Michelangelo Pistoletto held his first solo exhibition in Dulin, Italy, and created a series of artworks named after painted objects. These artworks symbolize the inception of Arte Povera, the most important artistic stream of the 20th century.

At present, most of his masterpieces are accommodated in museums all over the world, including those in New York, Paris and Rome.