Lin Xiangxiong exhibition opens at Peking University

Though nearly 70 years old, Singaporean artist Lin Xiangxiong broke a Peking University record on June 6 as he became the first foreign painter to be employed by the university as a visiting professor. His large paining Hundred Trees, created by the invitation of the university when Lin visited the Peking University Hall a month earlier, was donated to the university as a greeting painting for the hall, built to celebrate the 100-year birthday of Peking University in 1998.

Lin's solo exhibition "Fusion of East & West" also curtains off at Peking University on June 6, showcasing his 33 paintings, and will run through June 9.

Most of his works deal with idyllic subjects, such as rural landscapes, farmers and fishermen, while others deal with solemn issues like the aftermath of the financial crisis and industrial pollution, as well as those displaced by wars and natural disasters.

Born in 1945 in south China's Guangdong province, Lin has used art and culture as a powerful vehicle to bridge the East and West. Lin is now one of the representative figures from the Nanyang Painting School. He has staged numerous personal exhibitions in Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong, Taiwan and the Chinese mainland, and has published dozens of painting albums, essay collections and art reviews, and has participated and witnessed the development of Chinese art since 1983.

Dark Clouds Smother the Earth / 97×112 cm / 2009. Photo provide to Chinaculture.org