An oil painting by Xu Jianbai. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

An exhibition showcasing artworks by a pioneering female Chinese painter in celebration of her 100th birthday opened on March 8 at the Art Museum of the China Academy of Art in Hangzhou, capital of East China's Zhejiang province.

Coinciding with the 115th International Women's Day, the exhibition, titled "In Harmony: The Works of Xu Jianbai and Tan Xuesheng", brought together nearly 100 paintings, manuscripts, and letters, among other items, by Xu Jianbai as well as her husband Tan Xuesheng, a fellow painter.

"The exhibition showcases the strength of women," said Yu Xuhong, president of the CAA, at the opening ceremony.

Born in 1925, Xu Jianbai was one of the few female oil painters after the founding of New China in 1949. She started painting at an early age, and later enrolled in the National Fine Arts Academy, a predecessor of CAA, studying under the tutelage of Lin Fengmian, one of China's foremost modern artists.

She went to the US to pursue further studies in 1947 before returning to China in June 1949 and devoting herself to patriotic movements.

An oil painting by Xu Jianbai. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Xu is widely regarded as a trailblazer and champion of art in New China, consciously integrating Chinese culture and spirit into her oil paintings.

"It was only after returning to China, when I got the opportunity to conduct research at Beijing's Palace Museum and visit cultural sites in Xi'an, Dunhuang and other regions, that I truly connected with our millennia-old artistic legacy," she once said.

"This profound exposure made me realize that elevating my oil painting practice necessitates drawing nourishment from our national artistic traditions, though this must never be mechanical imitation or superficial appropriation," she said.

The exhibition will run until March 31.