A special exhibition of Indian paintings drawn by leading Chinese artists from Hangzhou Kaiming Art Gallery and Shanghai Artists Union was put on display at the Hangzhou S& T Art Gallery earlier in the afternoon of 16 June.

2. The exhibit features nearly 200 plus oil paintings drawn by a group of leading artists from the Eastern China region, who had earlier visited India in March at the invitation of Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR) and interacted with leading Indian painters/artists at workshops held in Varanasi, Jaipur and Agra. Most of the paintings on display featured Indian iconic sites, including images of the banks of the river Ganges, Taj Mahal and Red Fort.

3. The “Journey to India” paintings exhibition was held as part of the ongoing “India Culture Week” in Hangzhou, under which a series of events showcasing Indian culture, Gupta Art sculpture at Zhejiang Museum, Indian Film Festival at Hangzhou Library, Indian Food Festival at Baolong Mall and Business Event at Zhejiang Hotel, were organized from 15- 16 June onwards.

4. The paintings exhibition was inaugurated by Professor Wu Shanming, Vice President of Zhejiang Artists Association along with Deputy Director General of Zhejiang FAO and Consul General of India in Shanghai. It was attended by more than 100 artists from Hangzhou, along with a large number of local media, all of whom deeply appreciated the art work on display.

5. It may be noted that one of the Hangzhou artists, Professor Shen Shu, who is also Secretary General of the Kaiming Art Gallery had earlier last year in September, presented a life size portrait of Prime Minister of India, during PM’s visit to Hangzhou for the G20 Summit.

6. Subsequently, in March 2017, a group of ten painters from Kaiming Art Gallery and Shanghai Artists Union visited New Delhi, Agra, Varanasi, Jaipur and Udaipur, at the invitation of ICCR. Upon their return, they attempted nearly 200 plus oil paintings chronicling their impressions of the visit to India, which have been put on display at the Hangzhou Science and Tech Gallery. Kaiming Art Gallery had also in 2008, displayed an exhibition on India in Hangzhou and as such, this was their second such exhibit on India – after nearly nine years.

7. The paintings exhibition will continue to be on display in Hangzhou for the next two weeks till end of June 2017. It is expected that as a follow up, some of the select pieces would also be sent to India for exhibition in the first half of 2018.

Hangzhou (Zhejiang)

16 June 2017