Ink painter Cui Zhenkuan captures the relationship between humans and nature with his unique brushstrokes, which is highlighted in his ongoing solo show in Beijing. Photo provided to China Daily

Reaching out

Cui has spent years traveling and sketching in a bid to follow the school's motto－"one hand reaches out to the tradition, another hand reaches to real life".

Chinese painters used to create artworks based on subjective feelings, stressing pictorial imagery, rather than real-life issues, says Cui.

"When traditional Chinese paintings were transformed with a modern outlook, painters were forced to give up the seclusion of 'literati painting' and turn to the real world and the people living in it."

He portrays the magnificence of mountain stretches as well as the misty, picturesque villages in South China.

He says he doesn't want to limit his art to a certain geographical location.

Art theorist Liu Xiaochun say: "It wasn't until his 80s that Huang Binhong truly became a great master. Cui has just turned 80. It isn't too late (for his further evolution)."

If you go

9 am-5 pm, through Sunday. National Art Museum of China, 1 Wusi Street, Dongcheng district, Beijing. 010-6400-1476.