Ink on the move

"The application of smudged colors combined with the use of blankness re-creates the industrious atmosphere of the smelting process," Ma says.

Ya Ming once noted that the works defied conventional categories. "They are neither traditional figure paintings nor landscapes, nor any other existing genre. They represent something entirely new, shaped by the era and real life."

When the group's works were exhibited in Beijing in 1961, they were met with enthusiastic acclaim from both critics and the public. The success of the exhibition helped inspire the emergence of the New Jinling School, a modern reinterpretation of a historical tradition rooted in Nanjing, once known as Jinling.

While the original Jinling School of the 17th century emphasized personal expression and retreat into nature, artists such as Fu and Ya Ming expanded its scope, introducing new subjects and approaches that reflected contemporary realities.