At a glance

Huang Yongyu is hailed an art genius among the artists of his time. He spent his childhood in Fenghuang, a heavenly county with landscapes and folk culture that continues to inspire his artistic creations today.

Oil painting, 1967, by Huang Yongyu. Photo provided to China Daily

In addition to the landmark works that made him a household name, the exhibition has dedicated much more space to Huang's creations since 2004.

Huang wrote a calligraphic work in 2009 saying, "The world has grown up, and gosh, I'm getting old." The past decade, however, has witnessed his productiveness and versatility in oil painting, Chinese painting and calligraphy, sculpture, design and glasswork, which haven't withered away despite his aging.

He ranked ninth on this year's Hurun Art List and is among the most expensive Chinese artists alive. Nevertheless, the commercial success is far less enthralling for him than savoring the joy of completing a piece of art.

"Painting is a process which one should do to his heart's content," Huang says. "One should enjoy himself in any cultural activity. Even when writing a tragedy, one should feel satisfied."

He says because he has produced so many works, sometimes he will forget what he painted until he sees the piece on display. Thus, he says, he can't tell people which painting is the most representative of his oeuvre.

At the least, visitors to the ongoing exhibition should not miss two highlight works. One is an ink painting of lotuses that measures 3.67 meters in length and 1.44 meters in height, which Huang just finished a month before the opening.

In the painting Huang adopted baimiao, a technique with which the painter draws in simple ink lines and in no or light colors.

Lotus has been a recurring object in Huang's works. His childhood memories are full of the lotus pool at his maternal grandmother's home. He names his paradise, a Chinese-style manor in Beijing's suburb, Garden of Ten Thousand Lotuses. He says that lotus is quite a unique plant with its leaves, flowers and roots, which "bring many possibilities in composition and require different painting techniques".

A work by Huang Yongyu. Photo provided to China Daily

Another work, a mural called Great Unity of Chinese People of Various Ethnic Groups, which Huang created in 1959, also deserves much attention, because it is one of the only two Chinese mural works of the 1950s left today.