A group show, Art Beijing Discovery 2020, held at the Lei Shing Hong Art Center in northern Beijing will run through Jan 3. [Photo by Zhu Linyong/chinadaily.com.cn]

"The outbreak kept us almost in a state of paralysis for most of the year. But we never stopped thinking about the future," Art Beijing's founder Dong Mengyang said at the show's opening ceremony on Dec 16.

"We believe the Chinese art market, arguably the largest of its kind in the world, will recover in the coming year as life gradually comes back to normal. With this exhibition, we intend to usher in a new year of discoveries for art aficionados from home and abroad," Dong added.

Unlike previous exhibitions, next year's art expo will morph into two events -- Art Beijing 2021, to be staged in early May, and Art Discovery 2021, to be held in early September, said Li Bin, curator of the group show and a chief organizer of next year's art expos. "The first event focuses on established and mature artists and art groups while the second event highlights emerging artists whose works are far more experimental," Li noted.