Since its opening five years ago, the university's art museum has held several exhibitions to show contemporary works by artists from both home and abroad. The Realm of Existence exhibition further broadens the museum's vision of showing Chinese contemporary art, according to Du.

One piece of work being exhibited by each of the 13 artists was donated to the museum at the exhibition's opening. Du says the donations made the exhibition the first of its kind at the museum, shining a spotlight on the institution's collection and research of Chinese modern and contemporary art.

"It is a good beginning. The exhibition shows our interest in contemporary art and our efforts in the study of it," he says.

"We see future possibilities to communicate our views, serious and unique, with aesthetic concerns and social contexts, to teachers, students and art lovers."