CRI听力:Chinese artist embeds elements of fairytale and military in artworks

A Chinese artist has recently grabbed a lot of public attention for his unique artworks that look playful, but also mirror his previous experience as a soldier.

Contemporary artist Shen Jingdong recently opened a small-scale solo exhibition titled "Guns and Roses" in Beijing.

"There are military-themed paintings in various types of art exhibitions in China. However, these artworks are mainly realistic portraits, which, overall, look quite tedious in its style. Today, young people favor funny items with a childlike interest. Thus, I'm looking for an artistic interpretation that may enable viewers to feel relaxed."

The characters in Shen's artwork - important historic figures and regulary people - mostly look like a colorful candy figures with smiles.

Shen's solo exhibition has also attracted a group of international visitors.

Harvey Dzodin, a researcher currently working in China, is among them.

"Because I've seen this artist's work before, and so I decided to come here to see some works I hadn't seen before. I like art. It's one of the amazing things about contemporary China---that the degree of creativity. And certainly in America, where I'm from, we have a lot of creative artists, but not as many as here; not as much variety as here."

Shen Jingdong, who became the President of Oil Painting Academy of Contemporary Art Institute of China in 2014, has held more than 20 solo exhibitions worldwide, including in the US and Spain.

The "Guns and Roses" exhibition will last until September 15th.