Wang Shaoshuai's solo exhibition in Shanghai is attracting children and grown-ups alike.

Wang is the seventh artist featured in the Nan Fung North Art Project, a collaborative project between The Place, a mall located in the Hongqiao area of Shanghai's Changning district, and Ideal Gas, an art agency dedicated to the promotion of young emerging artists.

The exhibition titled Smile: A Solo Exhibition of Wang Shaoshuai will run until Sept 10 in the lobby of the mall's north podium, showcasing 27 paintings, four sculptures and two installations.

Wang held a workshop on Saturday and spoke to 16 students of the Shanghai Changning Fine Arts Academy and their parents, sharing the ideas behind the artwork on exhibition, and his life journey from a child who loved drawing to becoming a user interface (point of human computer interaction) and brand designer before making the switch to being an independent artist.

"When the seed of art is planted in a young heart, it will sprout, and grow strong someday," he says.

Wang studied art and design at the Xi'an Jiaotong University in Shaanxi province. After graduating, he was recruited by Tencent, a leading internet company in China, as a UI designer. But though he went on to open his own design company, he never gave up his dream of becoming an artist. He eventually started painting again.

"Painting helps release your energy and transmit it to the artwork," he says. When being asked about what art form he loves the most, he says, "I enjoy making free strokes with charcoal, acrylic and oil pastels …using whatever material feels right, adding one layer after another."