Event presenting more than 100 artworks by established and up-and-coming Chinese artists organised by the China Cultural Centre, aims to promote cultural exchanges between Malta and China.

Celebrating Together Centennial Carols: Lighting up China and Europe is organised by the China Cultural Centre in Malta, funded by the China National Art Funds and the Sichuan Fine Arts, and supported by the Malta Society of Arts. More than 35 Chinese artists will exhibit over 100 artworks, mainly paintings, inspired by European cultural life, in a variety of styles and techniques. The eclectic works will be displayed in the various spaces of the Malta Society of Arts’ (MSA) seat Palazzo de La Salle in Valletta.

Aiming to establish a connection between the people of China and Malta through Chinese culture and art, the exhibition includes traditional Chinese landscape painting, traditional Chinese cultural murals, prints, ceramics, paper colour ink art, traditional Chinese realistic paintings, modern Chinese paintings, oil paintings, ink paintings and free-style paintings. It also includes other Chinese-style works such as calligraphy, fan paintings and frame paintings, with some creations reflecting China’s thousand-year long traditions. All works transmit the artists’ desire to create cultural exchanges between the East and the West, using the universal language of visual art.

“Although the Chinese artists are unable to be present at this exhibition, they are willing to turn their works into a ‘mute blessing’ for their Maltese friends,” affirms curator and consultant Ding Ning. “At the same time, they firmly believe that sensitive Maltese audiences will be the ideal responders to their works.” Through the exhibition, Maltese visitors will find out what Chinese contemporary artists are following, what they are creating, how they express their feelings and their understanding of the outside world; and also how Chinese people see themselves, and what their impression of Malta is.

The Director of the China Cultural Centre, Mr Yang Xiaolong explains that the selected artists cover three different age groups, and they hail from eight famous art academies in China. Some of the artists are very well-known in China, including Xu li, who is a top-level contemporary Chinese painter and vice-chairman of the China Artists Association. His work Cloud Valley Wind Pine represents the highest level of paper colour ink art. Another top artist is award-winning Zhang Liang, whose works have been selected four times in the National Art Exhibition, the highest art event in China. Together with her students, she created the large-scale series of paintings about the Winter Olympic Games.

There are also many excellent young artists, including some outstanding master students from the above-mentioned arts academies. These include Guan Minghua, who created a series of paintings called The Impression of Malta depicting the Maltese romance through Chinese painting techniques; and Li Yiliang, whose representative work Musing reflects the inner world of the artist.

Commenting about this China-Malta cultural exchange, MSA President Arch. Adrian Mamo expressed his satisfaction that the event is finally happening despite being delayed by the pandemic. “This exhibition will shed light on the specific qualities of Chinese paintings, which are very different from Western ones” he says. “Maltese audiences will intuitively feel the uniqueness of how Chinese artists express themselves and how they harmoniously integrate Chinese cultural symbols with images from a European and Maltese context. These sorts of exchanges are what make art essential.”

The Chinese contemporary art exhibition Celebrating Together Centennial Carols: Lighting up China and Europe organised by the China Cultural Centre will be open between 30 March and 21 April 2022. Opening hours are Monday to Friday 8am to 7pm, and Saturdays 9am to 1.30pm. Entrance is free subject to Covid-19 safety measures. For more information please visit www.artsmalta.org or www.facebook.com/maltasocietyofarts. Some works forming part of the exhibition will also be exhibited at the China Cultural Centre (CCC) in Valletta. Visitors are welcome Monday to Friday 9am-12pm.