Impressionism inspired Chinese painter

Oil painter Sun Yuntai (1913-2005) expressed a deep affection for nature in his landscapes that feature intricate and accurate brushwork. A commemorative exhibition at Soka Art Center displays 29 of his paintings created between 1989 and 1999. The works demonstrate both his proficiency in oil painting, which came from years of strict discipline in the former Soviet Union, and his sharp sensibilities toward the four seasons. The paintings are rich with genuine emotions and imagination. He was inspired by Impressionism in applying colors and fascinated by sunlight and air flows. Born in Shandong province, Sun started to paint at 16. He perfected his skills in 1931 at the studio of Belarusian court painter Lobanov in Moscow. He accompanied Lobanov to China's Heilong-jiang province in 1943 and settled down in Harbin thereafter.

10 am-6:30 pm, closed on Mondays, until March 30. Soka Art Center, 798 art district, 4 Jiuxianqiao Lu (Road), Chaoyang district, Beijing. 010-5978-4808.

Sun Yuntai,Dreaming on the Riverside,1996,oil on canvas, 53x73cm. Provided to China Daily