Wuhan gets new museum on university grounds

Wanlin Art Museum becomes a cultural landmark in Wuhan University. [Photo provided to China Daily]

For years, cherry trees in full bloom at the prestigious Wuhan University have made the campus a springtime attraction.

Now, the Wanlin Art Museum will add to the charm of this 122-year-old institution located in Hubei's provincial capital in Central China.

The museum opened to the public on Saturday with an inaugural exhibition titled Fusion: Chinese Modern and Contemporary Art Since 1930s. It displays some 70 works－from paintings to photography to mixed-media art.

The show, running through May 28, seeks to examine how the artistic landscape has been formed in China since the 1930s, during the clash of Chinese and Western cultural ideas, and how artists of different generations juggled official expectations with personal expression.

The exhibits are from past veterans such as photographer Wu Yinxian (1900-94) and painter Wu Zuoren (1908-97), and leading contemporary lights including Ding Yi and Shang Yang.

The museum project was funded by businessman Chen Dongsheng, 58, an alumnus of the university who presides over Taikang Life Insurance Corp and China Guardian Auctions.

Chen, who is also an avid art collector and patron himself, donated 120 million yuan ($19 million) for the construction and gifted the museum his personal art collection worth 30 million yuan. The museum is named after Chen's father, Chen Wanlin.