Artist's Beijing solo continues literati painting tradition

Chen cited (Plants). 2017 No.6, her favorite painting of the artist as an example.

It's a medium-sized painting of two nondescript houseplants against a vibrant red background, far larger than the subjects.

"My heart feels nourished whenever I look at it, and I can look at it quietly for a long while. It feels like there's a therapeutic power to it, like many of his paintings," she said.

"This work is difficult to handle from a painterly perspective as Shen Xiaotong subtly approached the strong contrast of red and green colors, instilling the ordinary subject with the quality of a literati painting, which is quite rare in contemporary Chinese art," Chen commented.