Xia's return to painting parallels love of calligraphy

Titled Time Speed, Xia Pengcheng's solo exhibition currently at Songzhuang village, an art district in Beijing's eastern suburbs, examines how people can achieve inner peace when living in a fast-paced environment.

The show at the Fine Art Equivalence gallery displays dozens of calligraphic scrolls and abstract oil paintings he has executed over the past year. It continues through May 30.

Xia is viewed by critics as one of the most promising Chinese artists, as he extends one hand to modernize Chinese ink traditions and another to localize Western brushwork.