Artist with flowering talent

The show brings together some 100 ink paintings and calligraphy pieces from three museums in Chengdu, the city where Chen, a native of neighboring Chongqing, spent a great deal of time until his death.

Chen's tendency to hail nature and prosperous lives in the wild was linked to his own experiences.

The exhibition navigates his life and career as a legendary figure in the cultural scene in Sichuan, says Tao Yilin, the curator.

"He was born in a humble household, making a living on herding cattle while drawing on the ground. He was a self-taught painter, who earned a living by selling paintings and sometimes as a street performer of acrobatic stunts and martial arts. He was able to work as a professional artist in his middle age, and his passion for nature and painting helped him through hard times."

Chen's works also show an influence of earlier painters with mastery over capturing lives in their most vibrant and natural conditions. Chen once said: "In the beginning, I learned from Qi Baishi and Wu Changshuo (prominent Chinese art figures from the 20th century), and then I sourced enlightenment from the work of Bada Shanren (a 17th-century master artist)."

Tao says Chen's distinctive style shows a reduction in details and colors and a tasteful play with varying shades of ink, by which he presented an ambience of simplicity, aloofness and innocence; meanwhile he was able to uphold the spirit of Chinese ink traditions.

At 42, Chen was admitted to Sichuan's provincial institute for culture and history and became its youngest member. He gained in creativity and vision, thanks to the guidance of his senior colleagues there. He focused on Sichuan's landscapes and wildlife after that.