Art beat in May

Feel the skin

It is a basic yet fundamental form of visual art but painting is increasingly becoming the subject of marketing hype. That apart, it has been gradually marginalized by prevailing practices of experimental and conceptual art, where artists use multiple media. The confusing state of affairs in contemporary art is expressed through the portraits of He Duoling and Mao Yan, whose joint exhibition Skin's Literary Form is ongoing in Nanjing, capital of Jiangsu province. The two artists have been committed to oil painting for years and through delicate and sensitive brushwork, they stress on the vulnerabilities of the human skin. They convey that painting should regain its energy not via reproductions and repetition, but by being more sensitive and reconstructing its vocabulary.

9 am-5 pm, closed on Mondays, until May 24. Art Museum of Nanjing University of Art, 15 Huju Bei Lu (Road), Nanjing, Jiangsu province. 025-8349-8761.

-Lin Qi

Chen Sa and Mozart

Chinese pianist Chen Sa will collaborate with London Mozart Players, which was founded in 1949 as the first chamber orchestra in the United Kingdom, to stage a night of Mozart music. The concert will start with the upbeat Prague symphony. Then the orchestra's first trumpeter will showcase his virtuosity during the Posthorn serenade. Chen has chosen the less-performed No 25 piano concerto to play with the orchestra.

8 pm, May 25. Symphony Hall, Xinghai Concert Hall, 33 Qingbo Lu (Road), Ersha Island, Yuexiu district. 020-8735-8735.

China Philharmonic

The China Philharmonic Orchestra is set to rock out at its 14th anniversary celebration concert. Conductor Yu Long (pictured) is going casual in jeans. "It's a birthday party and we should have fun," he says. Not only will they look rock, the music will move away from the typical classics. Under Yu's baton, the orchestra will play songs from the Eagles, John Denver, The Bee Gees, Richard Marx and James Taylor. But Yu doesn't want to make it too easy for his musicians - he knows the orchestra has the ability to play something "bigger". So they will also rearrange Aaron Copland's Appalachian Spring. US country rock band Buffalo Rome has been invited to play.

7:30 pm, May 25. Forbidden City Concert Hall, inside Zhongshan Park, West of Tian'anmen Square, Xicheng district, Beijing. 010-6559-8285.

-Chen Jie