Xia Pengcheng is holding a solo show of calligraphy and ink paintings in Beijing.[Photo provided to China Daily]

"With the help of tires, people can speed up and run ahead of others. But one can't always work at a high speed, otherwise one will lose control.

"And good control of being fast and slow is exactly what I'm learning to master in calligraphy," he says.

The largest of Xia's oil paintings on show occupies a whole wall at the gallery, measuring 8 meters in length and 3 meters in height.

Adopting a simple palette, he seeks to present a state of solitude and simplicity with which he hopes to remind viewers of the paintings of Shitao and Bada Shanren, masters of the early Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

He believes the juxtaposition of his oil works with calligraphy will give prominence to Chinese artistic spirit that stresses innovation.

Guang Jun, a professor of the Central Academy of Fine Arts who taught Xia's class, says his creations on paper and on canvas both show an experimental attitude to connect Chinese and Western aesthetics with groundbreaking approaches. He expects Xia to develop the motif of tires into a series.

Bai Yefu, the curator of Xia's exhibition, says that standing before his artwork, people who are accustomed to a fast-paced society will want to slow down and refresh their minds with the beauty of colors and the free flow of writing strokes.

If you go

9 am-6 pm, through May 30. Block C106, Shangpu Art Zone, Songzhuang, Tongzhou district, Beijing. 010-8951-5019.