The 20th century witnessed a dramatic evolution of Chinese modernism and Chinese painting, which fostered the continuation and revival of Chinese cultural traditions in a modern context. A generation of artists, either working in the classic style of Chinese ink painting or adopting brushwork oil painting introduced from the West, dedicated themselves wholeheartedly to the reform of Chinese art under the influence of a mix of Eastern and Western cultures.

"Cultural Inheritance", an exhibition jointly mounted by the Shixiang Art Space and Poly Academy of Arts in Beijing, addresses this important change in the Chinese art history by showing more than 50 paintings by 21 prominent figures, such as Zhao Zhiqian, Wu Changshuo and Qi Baishi, among many others.