The city is incredibly active with art events this month, with several ongoing art shows at Liuhaisu Art Museum and Shanghai Art Museum.

Of all the major art shows, the most important one is the 2001 Shanghai Youth Biennale Exhibition in Liuhaisu Art Museum.

More than 200 works on different materials are on display there, including oil paintings, traditional Chinese paintings, statues, water-colours and synthetic materials. Chosen from a total of 650 works, they show the artistic explorations of young Shanghai-based artists over the past few years.

According to Hui Lan, the show's academic secretary, the exhibition is actually a quick response to the 2000 Shanghai Biennale, which was held successfully last November at the Art Museum of Shanghai.

"As a biennale, it reflects the relationship between artists and the current society," said Hui Lan. She cited "Ink-painting Characters" by Tao Lijia, a first-prize winning work in the exhibition, as an example.

"It is reminiscent of works by Dutch artist Marlene Dumas, which were on display at last year's biennale," she said.

In the work, a fashionable girl in a mini-skirt is depicted in shades of ink: the darker are the hair and scarf, the lighter are the skirt.

It shows the brief but expressive approach of traditional Chinese painting to modern themes and content.

As well as the major exhibition at Liuhaisu Art Museum, another 12 satellite shows are on display such as the Statue and Installation Show, Female Art Show and Three-Dimension Cartoon Show.

Another two important art shows are also being staged at the Shanghai Art Museum including "Dali - A genius of the 20th century" and "Hou Tsui-hsing's art show."

At the Dali art show, 85 works of the late Spanish artist Salvador Dali (1904-1989) are on display including 38 oil paintings and 47 water-colour sketches. These works date from 1919 to 1974 and reflect the artist's styles at different stages of his life.

Dali's works were shown last year in Beijing, and although only 19 were shown, they were well received. The Shanghai show is the first time his works have been on display in such a great number in China.

Carefully selected from works completed in the past two decades by Hou Tsui-Hsing, a Taiwanese painter, the 80-plus works shown at the Shanghai Museum include some of her most recent works, which are making their first appearances this time.

In general, Hou's works combine different techniques of realistic, partial abstract and abstract. They also contain messages from the lushness and nature of life. The artist got her inspiration from a variety of sources, from films, poetry, places she has visited and concertos she has heard.

"Through paintings, an opulent and perfect world is presented," Hou said. It is a principal she has abided by for decades. Her works, whether realistic scenery sketches or partial abstract metropolitan skylines, abstract musical interpretations or purely emotional depictions, all reveal her sensitive feelings, hobbies, open-mindedness and an inner world.

All of the three art shows will be open until the end of the month.

(China Daily 05/10/2001)