2017 Chao Shao-an: Chinese Master Wall Calendar

At the age of sixteen, Chao Shao-an (19051998), a native of southern Chinas Guangdong province, enrolled in the art academy run by Gao Qifeng, one of a handful of fearless artists who had jointly created the Lingnan school of painting. They broke with tradition by introducing modern subjects and perspective from Western art. The impact on Chao was terrific. His painting soon took on the qualities it was to preserve throughout the remainder of his career: vividness, dashing vigor, a bold use of both space and color, and a calligraphic looseness that verges on abstraction.