China News Service, Beijing, September 14 (Reporter Ying Ni) "Salute to the Master: Nicola Fexin's Fine Painting Exhibition" will be on display at the National Art Museum of China from September 29 to February 14, 2027. This is one of the Feixin special exhibitions with a larger scale and richer exhibits in the world in recent years.
Nikolay Feshin is one of the internationally influential artists of the 20th century. He was born in Kazan, Russia, studied at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg and studied under Ilya Repin, and later went to the United States to live and create. His experiences across different regions and cultures enabled his art to maintain the rigorous modeling emphasized by the Russian realist painting tradition, while also forming a free, unrestrained and expressive personal language. He is particularly good at creating portraits, figures and custom themes. With his solid and exquisite shapes, vivid and sensitive characterizations and tense brushwork, he has left a distinctive mark on the history of 20th century painting.
Pan Yikui, Director of the National Art Museum of China, introduced the upcoming "Tribute to the Master: Exhibition of Fine Paintings by Nicola Fexin". Photo by Shi Chunyang
At the press conference on the 14th, Pan Yikui, director of the National Art Museum of China, introduced that this exhibition brings together more than 70 fine paintings and sketches by Fei Xin, which span more than half a century and more completely present the artist's creative process from the Russian period to the American period. The exhibits mainly come from institutions such as the State Gallery of the Republic of Tatarstan, the Museum of the Russian Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Vyatvasnetsov Brothers Art Museum, and private collections in Russia and China. A number of important original works from the museum's collections and private collections are on display, including some rare large-scale original paintings that rarely have the opportunity to be exhibited outside Russia. Among them, "Cai'e - Cabbage Harvest Season" is an important creation of his Russian period, which focuses on the artist's ability to control the composition of large figures, depict the dynamics of figures and create the rhythm of the picture; works such as "Self-Portrait" and "Portrait of Father" reflect his keen observation of the appearance, personality and mental state of characters.
This exhibition not only provides a rare opportunity for Chinese audiences to appreciate Fei Xin's original works up close and understand his unique painting language, but also provides rich and important work documentation for studying his artistic journey across Russia and the United States, as well as the exchange and development of art in different cultural environments in the 20th century.
During the exhibition, the National Art Museum of China will also organize academic seminars, theme lectures, expert tours, public education workshops and youth aesthetic education activities around Fei Xin’s artistic life, painting language and cross-cultural creative experience. Related activities combine professional research, work appreciation and interactive experience, guiding audiences of different ages and knowledge backgrounds to approach Fei Xin and experience the artist's profound understanding of life and human nature in colors, brushstrokes and characters.
