Han's painting, Opera Performance. CHINA DAILY

The two artists both grew up in the countryside, and rendered to their creations a sentiment of rural scenery and lifestyle.

They also adopted elements of folk arts and crafts from their native homes.

Qi, hailing from rural Hunan province, was influenced by the primitive beauty of traditional wood sculpting and carving, while Han learned a sense of humor and insight from folk tales and drawings.

Visitors will see vivid examples of this at the exhibition. Qi revisited rustic subjects, such as roosters, corn and rakes, while Han developed a reputation for depicting scenes of local opera performances he watched avidly during childhood.

Neither of the two received any formal art training, but depended on self-learning and hard work.