London, 2 September, Xinhua (Reporter: Bai Xu and Dong Xiang) The exhibition of paintings from 100 Chinese contemporary artists began on 2 September in the Mall Galleries in central London.

      The exhibition took the theme, Blue & Yellow, which embodied the advancement of artists from green hands to veterans, from being inexperienced to having a wealth of experience. Over 100 excellent pieces of works by 100 teachers and students from four contemporary Chinese art academies were put of exhibition.

      In the opening ceremony, H.E. ambassador Liu Xiaoming noted the high level of this exhibition in displaying contemporary Chinese arts and the significance of the exhibition of the work of young artists in graphically recording the swift transition of their own lives.

      Many British visitors were interested in the paintings, like David Paskett, former president of the Royal Watercolor Society. "Looking at these paintings, one might feel like swimming in the sea of Chinese contemporary art. There is a lot of energy here," said Paskett, who has been to China many times and has a good knowledge of Chinese contemporary art.

      Paskett spoke highly of most of the paintings. One of his favorite paintings was an oil painting from Kang Yi, entitled, "Shui Neng Jie Yin" On the yellow background, black and white brush marks made it look like a figurative painting. But looking closely, you can see figures borrowed from traditional Chinese paintings and roofs of the old Huizhou building.

      Mark Aitken, who heads the Royal Foundation of St Katharine, said that his favorite painting was the Invisible Landscapes by Fang Zanru, a 26-year-old student of Chinese Academy of Art. The painting has a similar style with that of the Dutch painter, Vermeer, in the 17th century. Both the background and the still life are painted with plain colors, and then the figures in the panting are highlighted. Mr. Aitken said that as a British, he liked the background of nostalgia and the Chinese faces.

      Some artists came to London with their own paintings. Yang Ming, from southwest China's Sichuan Province, brought three oil paintings to the exhibition. "When Westerners talk about Chinese paintings, they always mean traditional Chinese paintings. In fact, they know little about Chinese contemporary painting. Hopefully this exhibition could give them a chance to see the change of Chinese artists," said the 45-year-old painter. This was the first time his works came to London.

      Ren Daqing, from the Nanjing University of Arts, had four traditional watercolors on display. "I added some modern elements into the traditional paintings, and the sceneries I painted reflected my inner world." Mr. Ren had held exhibitions in Asian countries such as Japan and South Korea in the past, but never in Britain. "I hope that these works could be well received by British visitors," he said.

      The exhibition was organized by YOURUN International Art (UK) and all paintings on display will be auctioned on 7 September by Dreweatts & Bloomsbury Auctions. Li Qiangsheng, from the Nanjing Yourun Property Investment and Management Co., Ltd. which sponsored the exhibition, said that they have got inquiries about the paintings from potential buyers. He estimated the prices could range from several thousand to tens of thousand pounds.