The exhibition Just Silence —The Grass and Insects World of Qi Baishi is underway at the Art Museum of Beijing Fine Art Academy. It features the biggest collection of the grass and insect artworks of the maestro.

On display are more than 200 paintings of Qi from National Art Museum of China, Liaoning Provincial Museum, Hunan Provincial Museum, CAFA Art Museum, Guangzhou Museum of Art, Rongbaozhai, Duoyunxuan, Long Museum in Shanghai and Beijing Fine Art Academy and other institutions.

According to Lv Xiao, Assistant to the Director of Beijing Fine Art Academy, this exhibition echoes the one on Qi's grass and insect paintings held 10 years ago when the academy was established. The current one is more comprehensive and systematic, which shows the development of Qi's artistic career and his painting style.

The exhibition consists of four floors. On the first floor, visitors can have a general view of Qi’s paintings of landscapes, flowers and birds, characters, calligraphies, seals, poems and letters.

The second floor displays small grass and insect paintings of Qi, where small insects are fleshed out on white drawing paper with no other background. The third and fourth floors showcase Qi's art pieces combining insects and flowers.

Qi Baishi (1864-1957), also known as Ch'i Pai-shih in the western literature, is perhaps the most well-known contemporary Chinese painter for his whimsical and often playful style.

The exhibition runs through Oct 7.

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