Connecting with art

Sydney and Yunnan in 1894 is an oil work by Australian artist Shen Jiawei.  [Photo provided to China Daily]

Two major works on the Belt and Road Initiative will be on display at the upcoming Beijing International Art Biennale. Lin Qi reports.

Last year, five Chinese painters were commissioned by the China Artists Association to execute two works for the upcoming seventh Beijing International Art Biennale.

Zheng Baizhong, a Fuzhouborn artist who specializes in the traditional ink-and-wash painting, has done a 6-meter-long scroll called A New Chapter of the Maritime Silk Road using the time-honored blue-green landscape. And he uses the gongbi technique to depict the evolution of East-West sea links.

The painting juxtaposes ancient Chinese merchant ships at important stops along the Maritime Silk Road with modern Chinese naval fleets escorting ships in the waters of the Gulf of Aden.

The other four oil painters produced The New Chapter of the Silk Road, an 8-meter-long work on the latest developments sparked by China's Belt and Road Initiative.

It portrays a panoramic view of the changes in transportation modes between China and Europe－scenes of merchants in ancient times and the China Railway Express that carries freight between Chinese and European cities.

The two works will be on display at the National Art Museum of China during the Beijing International Art Biennale that will be held from Sunday to Oct 15.

The China Artists Association, which is the nation's top organization for fine art, will showcase 567 artists from more than 100 countries, at the biennale.

The first event in 2003 featured 400 works by artists from 40 countries.