Exhibition View of "Old Masters, New Era" Fine Arts Exhibition at the National Centre for the Performing Arts
Organized by the National Centre for the Performing Arts and the Central Academy of Fine Arts, "Old Masters, New Era" Fine Arts Exhibition showcases over 90 artworks covering oil paintings, Chinese paintings, prints, sculptures, and watercolors. The highlights of the exhibition are classic masterpieces by art masters such as Qi Baishi and Xu Beihong, and the latest works by renowned artists from the Central Academy of Fine Arts are also featured in the related section.
Exhibition View of "Old Masters, New Era" Fine Arts Exhibition at the National Centre for the Performing Arts
This exhibition is a concrete practice which thoroughly implements the spirit of General Secretary Xi's important reply to the veteran professors of the Central Academy of Fine Arts. As an important part of the action plan "Aesthetic Education Nourishes China" comprehensively implemented by the Central Academy of Fine Arts, the exhibition has set a new record for the scale of exhibited works at the National Centre for the Performing Arts. It not only pays a tribute to the veteran professors, but it also promotes an innovative measure for the Central Academy of Fine Arts and the National Centre for the Performing Arts to cooperate in building a community of aesthetic education and jointly promote the spirit of Chinese aesthetic education.
View of the Opening Ceremony
Sheng Yang, Wang Ning, Feng Yuan, Han Zirong, and Xu Yang jointly unveiled the exhibition.
Students from the Central Academy of Fine Arts recited a poem with musical accompaniment, titled Ode to Old Masters in the New Era.
Jin Shangyi, Honorary Chairman of the China Artists Association and former President of the Central Academy of Fine Arts; Feng Yuan, Vice Director of the Central Research Institute of Culture and History and Honorary Chairman of the China Artists Association; Wang Ning, President of the National Centre for the Performing Arts; Han Zirong, Chairman of the Beijing Federation of Literary and Art Circles; Hao Yamei, Secretary-General of the Working Committee for the Care of the Next Generation of the Ministry of Education; Zou Ling, Deputy Secretary of the Beijing Municipal Education Working Committee; Xu Yang, Secretary of the Party Committee of the Central Academy of Fine Arts; Lin Mao, President of the Central Academy of Fine Arts; Zhao Donghai, Secretary of the Party Committee of Inner Mongolia Minzu University; Xu Lian, Vice President of the China National Academy of Painting; Xu Hongmei, Member of the Party Committee and Chief Editor of the Art Editorial Office of the Literature and Art Department of People's Daily; Wang Xiaolin, Curator of this exhibition, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, and Director of the Working Committee for the Care of the Next Generation; Wang Ban, Vice President of the National Centre for the Performing Arts; and Wu Qiang, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and Secretary of the Discipline Inspection Commission of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, attended the opening ceremony.
Exhibition View of "Old Masters, New Era" Fine Arts Exhibition at the National Centre for the Performing Arts 
The Group Photo of Honored Guests
Representatives of the participating senior professors included Sheng Yang, Cao Chunsheng, Zhang Lichen, Guo Yizong, Lou Jiaben, Zhang Dasheng, Sun Jingbo, You Jindong, Li Yang, Zhai Xinjian, Su Baijun, Gao Tianxiong, Hu Mingzhe, Wang Shaojun, Liu Liping, and Jin Rilong, as well as family members of Prof. Xu Xingzhi and Prof. Zhou Lingzhao, attended the opening ceremony.
Exhibition View of "Old Masters, New Era" Fine Arts Exhibition at the National Centre for the Performing Arts
The tag "Old Master" counts for its special significance. Old masters are not just highly skilled artists, but also those devoted to practising and inheriting the spirit of Chinese aesthetic education. Baptised by time, they have seen over a century of development in China's fine arts and personally experienced the heyday of Chinese culture. Their works are imbued with profound traditional heritage and rigorous artistic ethos. Living in a "new era", they carry on with art practice by themselves in response to the call of the era. Dedicated to carrying forward the spirit of Chinese aesthetic education, they have created a series of masterpieces under native aesthetic standards on the basis of traditional Chinese culture.
Selected Works
Qi Baishi, Orchid, 166×41cm, ink and colour on paper, 1925. CAFAM Collection.
Xu Beihong, Three Roosters, 84×50.5cm, ink and colour on paper, 1937. CAFAM Collection.
Li Keran, Cowboy Wading into the Water, 69×46cm, ink and colour on paper, 1940. CAFAM Collection.
Wu Biduan, The Sowers, 58×47cm, Coloured woodcut, 1987. CAFAM Collection.
Ding Yilin, The House on the Top of Mountain, oil on canvas, 80×100cm, 2021.
Hu Mingzhe, Ruins I, mineral pigments, 80×120ccm, 2020.
Liu Liping, First Snow at the Palace Museum, silkscreen print, 80×100cm, 2018.
Zhou Jirong, Sky Eye, silkscreen painting, 100×150cm, 2019. CAFAM Collection.
About the Exhibition
"Old Masters, New Era" Fine Arts Exhibition
Dates: November 25, 2025 – March 31, 2026
Venue: East Exhibition Hall, NCPA
Organizers: National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA), Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA)
Co-organizers: CAFA Committee for the Care of the Next Generation, CAFA Office of Retired Staff, Art Department of NCPA
Supporting Units: CAFA Art Museum, CAFA Publicity Department
Courtesy of National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA), edited by CAFA Publicity Department.
