The history of Chinese oil painting has its roots in the early decades of the last century. It's a relatively short period of artistic experimentation, yet what we see today in Chinese oil paintings is an awesome range of diverse styles and a major attempt to enter the discourse of the contemporary art world. Among the leading Chinese oil painters is 52-year-old Chao Ge who distinguishes himself with his idealist passion and striking representation of the spiritual world of the Chinese public. We sat down with Chao Ge recently to talk about his new artistic endeavors and aspirations.

China's societal progress and economic development has put the country on a roller coaster of urbanization and globalization. As a result, many Chinese began to feel puzzled and confused, even though they were gaining material wealth.

As an artist and thinker, Chao Ge finds himself constantly finding both inspiration and hope, as well as the torture of doubt and frustration. But he's found an outlet for those complicated emotions - depicting everyday Chinese, their loss, confusion, hopes and boredom in the face of a rapidly changing society.

Oil painter Chao Ge said, "What happens in this era? This changing time is full of contradictions, happiness and bitterness as well as conflicts of different values. They include good against evil, people's openness versus their confinement, and privacy coupled with commonality. From all these perspectives, I feel the abundant complexity of life. And as an artist, I have to speak."

Chao Ge's paintings of ordinary Chinese people are not only portraits of their physical features, but more importantly, portraits of their psychological state and inner spiritual worlds.

Images most frequently appearing in his work include troubled intellectuals, small-town youngsters, and people of his ethnic group, Mongolians.