On September 22, 2017, eight o’clock in the evening, as one of the most ancient cities in the world, Athens embraced Chinese freehand brushwork from the National Art Museum of China (NAMOC) for the first time in its history. Athens is a city where many immortal virtuosos, such as Socrates, Plato and Aristotle among others, once left their footprints. Today, China, a country also marked with a long civilization history (5,000 years) will witness further consolidation of mutual progress of art and mutual learning with Greece.

The exhibition is presented in Greece’s National Museum of Contemporary Art (EMST) in Athens. As an important component under the framework of the China-Greece Cultural Exchanges and Cultural Industry Cooperation Year in 2017, it gained vigorous auspices from the Greek Ministry of Culture and Sports and China’s Ministry of Culture. The move has been desired to deepen bilateral ties, especially as an attempt to explore new potential cooperation opportunities in the sector of China-Greece cultural exchanges.

The exhibition under the theme of “Chinese Freehand Brushwork - Art from National Art Museum of China” features the generation mode of this traditional genre of Chinese painting by meticulously selecting 58 works from NAMOC’s collection. The exhibition is presented in three sections: freehand brushwork, freehand image and freehand conception. As an effort to pursue, promote and practice the essence of the traditional Chinese culture, the works at the exhibition allow visitors to feel the unique Chinese spirit, style of the time, and its cultural confidence. The works well exhibit China’s humanistic value, its noble, unsullied literati interest and charm, in addition to the free and easy aesthetic beauty they bring along.  

Ancient Greek civilization is the cradle of western civilization. Its cultural and technological progress once generated significant impact to the world’s history. China is one of the four ancient civilizations of the world whose cultural context continues till present day. That the “Chinese Freehand Brushwork - Art from National Art Museum of China” comes all the way to Greece, is meant for interaction, advancement of further organic communication, mutual learning and visual experience of the unique Chinese art form of freehand brushwork to Greek audience via the platform of the two museums.  

“Art from National Art Museum of China” is a series of exhibitions branded by NAMOC as a national exchange contributor. These exhibitions have been showcased in national art galleries in countries such as Poland, France, Mexico and Singapore. Well-received as they were, a burst of “China craze” was observed in every country they visited. Humanistic spirit carries eternal charm. NAMOC is committed to, via every single piece of exquisite artwork at every exhibition, carrying this spirit forward, diffusing China story, disseminating its deep, poetic and a big power featured culture for the purpose to build the connection of each other’s heart.