Exhibition honors artist's illustrious career

Oil painter, filmmaker, director, designer, record-breaker, and more — Chen Yifei receives a well-deserved retrospective 20 years after his premature passing, Zhang Kun reports.

Twenty years after his premature death while filming a movie in Shanghai, one of modern China's most important artists, Chen Yifei (1946-2005), is having a retrospective in Shanghai focusing on his life and career.

Held at the Museum of Art Pudong from April 26 to Oct 12, Chen Yifei: A Retrospective on Art and Legacy gathers 80 of his original oil paintings, consisting of representative pieces from the important periods of his career, says Feng Yuan, chief curator of the exhibition, honorary president of the China Artists' Association and former vice-chairman of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles.

"This retrospective is the largest and most comprehensive showcase of Chen's life and works," says Li Minkun, deputy general manager of Shanghai Lujiazui Group and chairman of MAP. "We made great efforts to bring dozens of his other works, such as manuscripts, sketches, watercolor paintings, movie clips, magazines and clothing, covering a wide range of subjects closely connected to all aspects of Chen's life."