A work by the Chinese artist Walasse Ting.

Wen believes the major problem facing the majority of young artists in Guangdong Province today is that they still cannot shake off the so-called academism, that is, what they have learned from their teachers in college.

“In fact, the whole of Chinese society is rapidly progressing today, and the social and cultural problems the young generation of artists is facing in 2008 are very different from what Wang Guangyi and the three Luo Brothers (Luo Weidong, Luo Weiguo and Luo Weibing), pioneers of contemporary Chinese art, faced in the 1980s and 1990s,” she said.

“Young artists today should exercise more freedom and become more open, creative, vigorous and dynamic in their artistic creations, and the images they present should be more diversified, and they should focus on the human psyche rather than politics in their works,” she said.

Wen says she understands there is still a lot of work she needs to do to develop her business in Shenzhen.

“Running art exhibitions in Shenzhen is just the starting point for my career here. I have no other choice. And if I’m not going to do it, who else will do it?” she said.