From farmers to heroes, every face finds dignity

Also, both are from the Inner Mongolia autonomous region. Chao notes that the expansiveness of northern China has had an increasing influence on Yang's work over the past two decades, motivating him to depict rural scenes. He says that the paintings, in which Yang shares careful observations of those living in the countryside, convey nostalgic sentiments, compassion and an ode to the people's tenacity.

Xu Jiang, an artist who chairs the China Oil Painting Society, says Yang has successfully transplanted the art of oil painting and European classicism into the soil of Chinese culture, to accentuate Eastern aesthetic preferences. "This is evidenced by the varying shades of brown that often dominate his works, through which he presents an intense Chinese atmosphere, revealing the disposition and temperament of Chinese people," Xu says.

An example on display is a portrait of the late artist Qi Baishi (1864-1957). Dressed in a long, dark brown gown, Qi, an iconic figure in modern art, is seated and set against Wanhe Songfeng (Whispering Pines in the Mountains), a representative landscape painting by Li Tang, who lived in the 11th and 12th centuries and which is also the title of Yang's work.