Mind and Schema is a painting exhibition in Beijing that shows the latest development in oil painting made by artists based in Nanjing, East China's Jiangsu province. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Mind and Schema is a painting exhibition in Beijing that shows the latest development in oil painting made by artists based in Nanjing, East China's Jiangsu province. Their variety in imagery and colors celebrates the long-standing effort to transform oil painting into the Chinese cultural context since the early 20th century.

Closed to Shanghai where Western art movements were introduced, Jiangsu was exposed to the influence of various painting styles brought back by pioneering Chinese painters who studied in Europe, such as Xu Beihong, Lin Fengmian and Liu Haisu. For generations, artists in Jiangsu have been infusing the brushstroke of oil painting with artistic traditions and philosophical thinking of the Chinese.

Shen Xinggong, a featured painter and professor of Nanjing University of the Arts, says although the mediums to convey emotions have become more diverse, the expressiveness of painting remains unique and can't be replaced.

The exhibition is held at the National Art Museum of China through Oct 23.