The development of oil painting (youhua) in the People's Republic of China (PRC) during the post-Maoist period was due to the end of the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976), which allowed the resumption of dialogue with the West, stimulating the renewal of modern Chinese culture and art. Important trends can be traced in a relatively rare for Chinese art subject painting (still life), since in the early 1980s Chinese artists again gained access to the international experience accumulated in this genre. The author of the article seeks by use concrete examples to show the rapid evolution of the still life genre in Chinese painting characterizing this period, to show the transition of Chinese artists from apprenticeship with Western masters to creating their own versions of conceptualism. A comparative analysis of the paintings reveals the desire of the painters of the People's Republic of China to preserve and transform the national cultural tradition in modern and relevant visual art.
Oil painting of the People's Republic of China (PRC), Chinese still life in the turn of the 20th–21st centuries, Western influences, Chinese conceptual art.