Exhibition honors artist's illustrious career

"By reexamining his work in the context of globalization, Chinese art has engaged in a deep dialogue with international modernity while sticking to its local narrative. This is why Chen is still compelling," Yang says.

While Chen's most significant contribution to China's contemporary art scene was his achievements in oil painting, Feng told the media at the opening of the exhibition, "He was passionate about a variety of visual arts and a strong advocate and promoter of the idea of Greater Art. His career transitioning to making movies was closely related to his paintings".

As a painter, Chen was especially good at portraits. "Film has special advantages in portraying humanity and psychological depth," says Feng. "As a fellow artist, I understand why he would cross over into film and turn to making movies," Feng adds.

His first movie, Reveries on Old Shanghai, was featured at the inaugural Shanghai International Film Festival in 1993. Chen went on to direct Evening Liaison and Escape to Shanghai. In 2005, he fell ill during the shooting of his last film, The Music Box, in Shanghai and died at age 59.