Jin's continued exploration in the possibilities of Chinese oil paintings is also reflected in his portraits of historical figures. He painted traditional Chinese painters like Kun Can (1612-92). "I wanted to explore the possible combination of ink paintings and oil paintings - how oil paintings could have the Chinese spirit," said Jin.

Promoting print art

On the market side, Jin's works are very popular. In 2009, one of his portraits of Mao Zedong sold for over 20 million yuan.

Earlier this year, several of his paintings were included in the Poly spring auctions with plans to sell this June. One estimate shows that the total transactions of Jin's works have reached 200 million yuan ($32.6 million) over the past years.

However, Jin finds that donating works to art museums is the best ending for his paintings. In 2010, Jin donated almost 40 paintings to the National Museum of China. Now, most of his works belong to art museums.

Last year, Jin also founded an art foundation to help and encourage young artists. His concern for art extended to the public, and that caring heart is also reflected in the preparation for the ongoing exhibition.

The discussion between prints' academic and business value has never stopped. Su sees the future of prints as being in the hands of the public rather than with museums or art schools. But the general understanding in China is still that only an original is worth collecting.

Thus, Jin's participation as a "celebrity artist" taking part in the process means a lot in the development of prints as a branch of the art industry in China.

"Jin is a role model and role models are influential. People see him in a print exhibition and will ask him [to explain] printing," said Su.

Not only is Jin's involvement significant, but the way he contributed also sets an example.

Jin Jun has spent two years on these prints. He visited and consulted the leading print studios in Europe and Japan. When the print satisfied his standards, senior Jin stepped in to ensure that every detail reached his standard. The process went back and forth until the prints in the exhibition had passed hundreds of editions to achieve today's quality.

"Not many artists do this for their copied works," said Su.

Tan Ping, vice-president of CAFA wrote in the preface for the exhibition that such prints are creative, not simply copies anymore. "The process, which includes multiple techniques and people from different areas of art, creates a new way [of producing art]."