It is likely that the new millennium will see the traditional art of Chinese ink painting start to concentrate on urban life. Modern city life, rather than natural landscape themes that have dominated Chinese ink painting for centuries, is taking a leading role on artists' canvases.

The Fourth International Ink Painting Biennale of Shenzhen displays some of the new artistic visions of Chinese and foreign ink painters.

After the invention of paper and throughout 2,000 years of history, ink painting continually developed new modes of expression using the quintessential Chinese media of ink, brush and Xuan paper.

The ink painting has gradually become a distinct form of visual expression originating in Chinese tradition and coexisting today with both Eastern and Western arts traditions as an authentic visual expression.

This year's show, the fourth since 1998, is considered almost a breakthrough attempt to expand the domain of ink painting to help the ancient art survive and develop in the modern world.

"In today's China, it has been natural for painting, film, literature, drama to cover modern city life, and that's not just the case for traditional Chinese ink painting. Because our living environment is changing and people's thoughts are also changing," said arts critic Jia Fangzhou.

Jia said it had been taken for granted Chinese ink painting only depicted rural environments and the life of the old, agricultural society where this particular painting form originated from.

Since the beginning of the 20th century, there have been worries about whether the seemingly "irrelevant" art form has any reason to exist in a modern society distinguished by rapid urbanization.

There have also been discussions about whether the traditional methods of the art form are capable of reflecting modern city life.

"The Shenzhen show is proof that Chinese ink painting is a dynamic art form that has potential to flourish," said Liu Xuguang, an artist from Beijing Film Academy who always stands on the vanguard of arts.

In his figurative work Ink Dot, Touching Point, Liu used video art to depict how the traditional ink is melted into the high-tech era, symbolizing that something traditional is being engulfed by the tide of modernization.

"Art can never live without society. The latest change taking place in society usually provides the source of inspiration for artists. I don't think an artist should resist any innovation to keep the tradition on the surface," said Liu.

Most of the exhibits touch upon almost every aspect of modern city life, from the changes taking place to the urban landscape to the new lifestyle trends of Chinese urbanites and the cultural collisions that occur in cities.

A number of Chinese artists chose to paint Western city scenes for the exhibition, mostly as records of their travels abroad. The traditional media of Chinese ink and Xuan paper create an interesting effect when paired with Western images.

Although welcoming the experimental works in the show, professor Shao Dazhen pointed out that Chinese ink painting can be modernized without completely breaking with the past.

"Ink paintings depicting rural landscapes and people are still necessary today, as urban people are all longing for the hermit-like life in the countryside. Originality and modernity can be obtained using traditional styles," Shao said.

"A number of works in the exhibition are overly Westernized, both in concept and technique," Shao said. "It would be a tragedy to reform Chinese ink painting just by copying Western modern arts."

Some experts also say that the theme classification at the Shenzhen biennial is not so clear and still it takes time to improve.

In addition, some works are still superficial and lack a deep understanding of cities. Urban life is more than cars, posters and high-rises, they say.

Editor: Catherine