Newman Huo

AN artistic design exhibition, part of the 11th China National Fine Arts Exhibition (CNFAE), opened at the newly renovated Guan Shanyue Art Museum yesterday.

“As a City of Design named by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Shenzhen is a showcase for China’s accomplishments in the field of design over the past three decades,” said Wu Changjiang, vice president of the Chinese Artists Association.

The exhibition features 463 prize candidates chosen from 3,000 entries from all over the country and covers four major categories: graphic design, fashion, industrial and environmental design.

Among them, 57 are from Shenzhen designers, making up roughly 12 percent of the total prize candidates.

Tilman Thurmer, director of a Berlin-based architecture and design company, said he was impressed with the high quality of prize-winning works at the exhibition.

“I’ve attended many exhibitions in China, but this is certainly the design exhibition which impressed me most,” said Thurmer.

The 11th fine arts exhibition is part of cultural activities to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China.

It is divided into 10 sections with categories such as Chinese painting, oil painting, engraving, sculpture, murals, watercolor and pastel drawing, and artistic design.

Ten cities have been chosen to host different divisions of the fine arts exhibition, including Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing in Jiangsu Province and Wuhan in Hubei Province.

This is the second time the city has hosted the artistic design exhibition since it was included in the ninth CNFAE in 1999.