Twentieth-century Chinese modern art embodies a dynamic collision and symbiosis between tradition and modernity. Amidst a century of upheaval, Artists bore the mission of perpetuating the legacy of ancient Chinese civilization and confronting the dual onslaught of Western cultural influences and the turbulence of societal transformation. Some ventured overseas to study, ingesting the essence of Western modern art; while others rooted themselves in their homeland, incisively probing innovative inspirations of their riveted cultural traditions. Centered on the works of over thirty artists—including Wu Dayu, Lin Fengmian, Ni Yide, and Wei Tianlin—this exhibition, A Century Encapsulated: Twentieth Century Chinese Modern Art, traces a transcultural Narrative: a quest for rebirth amid fragmentation and the reconfiguration of Eastern aesthetics through dialogue.

Artistic innovation and the construction of pedagogical lineages played a pivotal role in the modern transformation of Chinese art during the twentieth century. At the National Hangzhou National College of Art, Lin Fengmian’s philosophy of “harmonizing Chinese and Western art” nurtured pioneers like Wu Guanzhong and Chu Teh-Chun, who fused Eastern and Western aesthetics, while reshaping an entire generation’s artistic vision through an open pedagogical system. Yan Wenliang founded the Suzhou Art Academy, merging Western realist techniques with Eastern lyricism. His students, such as Wei Tianlin and Zhang Anzhi, explored Eastern aesthetics through oil painting, establishing the “poetics of color” as a vital academic legacy. Xu Beihong’s realism pedagogy, at the National Central University’s Department of Art, is carried forward by students like Sun Zongwei and Zhang Anzhi, infusing social consciousness into artistic expression. These educational pioneers transformed academies into incubators, transmitting not only technical mastery but also catalyzing the evolution of aesthetics through mentorship; from Lin Fengmian and Wu Guanzhong’s dialectics on “formal beauty” to Ni Yide’s modernist enlightenment of young artists in the Juelan Society. Teacher-student relationships formed an invisible network, bridging the brushwork ethos of traditional literati painting with the conceptual ferment of Western modern art, ultimately forging a unique path for Chinese art onto the global stage.

Thus, this exhibition transcends a mere chronological display. By interrogating the interplay between artistic innovation and pedagogical lineages, it re-examines the trajectory of Chinese art’s modernity in the twentieth century. These works are both maps of individual souls and imprints of a nation’s spiritual inheritance, collectively inscribing a visual epic of “breaking free from tradition while taking root in the world.” These works are both maps of individual souls and imprints of a nation’s spiritual inheritance, collectively inscribing a visual epic of “breaking free from tradition while taking root in the world.”