Emerging Chinese artists showcase talent in Sydney

The New Perspective — China Emerging Artists Exchange Exhibition, which features 36 artworks by 19 emerging Chinese artists, opened at the China Cultural Center in Sydney on July 10.

Running until Aug 17, the exhibition was jointly organized by the China Cultural Centre in Sydney and the China Center for International Culture and Tourism Exchanges. The exhibition showcases a diverse range of work, including oil painting, printmaking, ink, watercolor and mixed media, presenting a multidimensional perspective on the creative practices of young contemporary Chinese artists.

In his welcome address, Liu Dong, director of the China Culture Center in Sydney, emphasized how art acts as a universal language and highlighted the role of young artists as dynamic creators whose expressions offer imagination and hope to the world. He said he hoped the exhibition could captivate an Australian audience and serve as a starting point for Sino-Australian artistic exchange.

Wang Shuyu, cultural counsellor of the Chinese Consulate General in Sydney, described the exhibition as not only an artistic feast but also a bridge connecting Chinese and Australian cultures. She noted that a vibrant, open dialogue gains depth through audience appreciation and said the exhibition would inspire fresh views on bilateral cultural exchange.

Ian Howard, a professor at the University of New South Wales, said that even though art keeps evolving, artists’ expressions remain deeply personal and rooted in social realities. He noted that young artists are pioneering new horizons as they use contemporary international artistic language to explore shared human concerns like time, life, nature and the environment.

Li Qiushi, deputy director of the department of experimental art at Luxun Academy of Fine Arts, said the showpieces, though diverse in style, all reflect the youth of China’s sensitivity to reality. Rooted in Chinese culture yet conversant in global artistic language, the featured artists serve as bridges across cultural barriers, through works that find resonance among young artists in both countries.

Yang Runyu contributed to this story.