Chinese contemporary art exhibition kicks off

Chinese contemporary art exhibition kicked off in Turkey's Istanbul Modern Museum on Thursday, with more than 200 people attending the opening ceremony.

"Transformation: A View on Chinese Contemporary Art" will go on public display at the museum's temporary exhibit hall on Friday, featuring works by 15 Chinese artists and artist groups.

Chinese artist Wang Dongming showed his calligraphy at the opening ceremony, attracting many people. Turkish artist Deniz Cobanket told Xinhua that she was excited to see the Chinese artist showing Chinese writing on the ground.

Chinese Consul General Zhang Qingyang said the two-month exhibition will help promote cultural understanding and exchanges of the two peoples.

Centered on the theme of "inner and outer transformation," it balances internal exploration and external application of traditional Chinese values in today's world. The works reinterpret traditional Chinese culture and philosophy through the use of contemporary techniques, new discoveries and groundbreaking approaches.

Istanbul Modern Museum hosts this exhibition as part of the celebrations for the Year of Chinese Culture in Turkey.

With support from the Chinese and Turkish ministries of culture and Chinese Embassy in Ankara, the exhibition is set to run through Nov. 25. In exchange, a selection from Istanbul Modern Museum's permanent collection is scheduled to travel to Shanghai, a eastern coastal city in China, in 2013.