Paintings on display include calligraphy. Photo: Wu Shi

Sponsored by China Friendship Association of Cultural Circles, National Art Museum of China, the Taiwan Academy of Fine Arts and other corresponding organizations, the Chinese Mainland Traveling Exhibition of the Taiwan Academy of Fine Arts opened its gate on August 22, giving the public a chance to get up close and personal with the works of 18 Taiwanese artists.

The exhibit focuses on paintings of different varieties, including wash paintings, engravings, calligraphies and oil paintings. Some are realistic and some nonobjective and abstract. It's called a "thorough display" of the contemporary arts because six of the 18 artists each represent what's been called "a new style of painting."

Jiang Xianer's style of painting, for example, is said to reflect a bold exploration of spiritual miracles. Lin Pansong is dedicated to the expression of the idea of the "spiritual hometown" in his works of arts.

Some paintings are realistic expressions while others have abstract meanings for the audience to detect. For instance, Xie's series of acrylic paintings of bulls in four colors is designed to express his understanding about the assiduous spirit of the ancestors. In comparison with the bull, the so-called Floating Taiwan in computer graphics is more straightforward. On the 100 cm by 70 cm blue map of Taiwan, he put many pieces of the island in either white or black color.

For those who have no appetite for the abstract displays, the delicate Taipei Five City Gate ink painting by Jiang Mingxian and the bright and colorful painting of twelve big persimmons in oil and gold foil could be a nice break for audience members who like their art representational.