An exhibition currently on view at the Art Museum of Beijing Fine Art Academy offers an immersive exploration of Ya Ming’s ink paintings, tracing the artist’s extensive travels across China and beyond. Running through April 26, the show, titled "Speaking for Nature," presents works from multiple collections, including those of the Jiangsu Traditional Chinese Painting Institute, Jiangsu Art Museum, Ya Ming Art Museum in Hefei, and private holdings.

Ya Ming (1924–2002), born Ye Jiabing, was a prominent figure in 20th-century Chinese painting whose work vividly captures landscapes through expressive brushwork. The exhibition centers on a pivotal journey he undertook in the autumn of 1960, when he traveled with a group of artists from the Jiangsu Traditional Chinese Painting Institute on an extensive three-month expedition. The team, led by Fu Baoshi (1904–65), the founding president of the institute and a leading ink painter of his time, departed from Nanjing and journeyed through Henan, Shaanxi, Sichuan, Chongqing, Hubei, Hunan, and Guangdong provinces before returning home. Their route encompassed renowned natural sites such as Sanmen Gorge, Huashan Mountain, and Mount Emei.

This trip was not merely a survey of scenic beauty but also an artistic undertaking aimed at bridging traditional Chinese painting with the rapid industrial and social transformations occurring during that era. Notably, Ya Ming’s "An Album of Iron and Steel," comprising ten sketches made at steel plants in Chongqing and Wuhan, utilizes smudged colors and deliberate blank spaces to evoke the intense atmosphere of industrial smelting. His approach challenged boundaries between conventional genres, blending landscape and figure painting in ways that reflected both the times and real-life experiences.

The artworks produced during this journey were first exhibited in Beijing in 1961, receiving positive recognition from critics and the public alike. The exhibition invigorated the development of the New Jinling School, a modern reinterpretation of a 17th-century Nanjing-based art tradition. While the original Jinling School emphasized personal expression and nature retreat, Ya Ming and his contemporaries expanded the tradition’s scope to include contemporary themes and new artistic techniques.

In addition to works created on home soil, the exhibition features paintings and drawings from Ya Ming’s foreign travels. Despite employing traditional Chinese brush and ink methods, these pieces embody the artist’s belief that the medium can transcend national borders, conveying the essence and spirit of landscapes worldwide. Ya Ming described his work as a way to “speak for the mountains and rivers,” underscoring the enduring power of Chinese painting as a universal visual language.

Curator Ma Wen highlighted how the exhibited works serve as “messages carried across time,” inviting contemporary audiences to accompany Ya Ming on his journeys and share in his artistic reflections. Xue Liang, director of the hosting museum, noted that the exhibition is part of a longer-term series dedicated to 20th-century Chinese art masters, which aims to contextualize individual artists within the broader developments of modern Chinese art.

Through its rich assemblage of paintings, drawings, and sketches, "Speaking for Nature" offers viewers a contemplative experience resembling the traditional Taoist concept of woyou — a mindful and imaginative journey through landscape, undertaken within the mind. The exhibition thus not only celebrates Ya Ming’s artistic legacy but also evokes a deeply rooted cultural practice of connecting with nature through art.