Wu Hufan introduced Chinese ink painting to bright colors and imagery favored by ordinary folks, bringing art close to people's daily lives, opposite to the interest of the refined intellectuals who treated art as a way to express their spiritual pursuits, Chen says.

In 1936, Wu Hufan's landscape painting Yun Biao Qi Feng, or The Steep Peaks Above the Clouds, made a splash when it was exhibited in Shanghai. It is a Chinese ink painting but its perspective, light and dark shadow contrasts and rich layers of colors remind people of Western paintings. The piece gave Chinese ink painting a new look and immediately made Wu Hufan famous in China's art scene.

While many Chinese artists in the country at that time found new methods and inspiration in the cultural clash between the East and the West, tradition and modernity, Wu Hufan "chose a path less-taken", according to Chen.

He held tight to his roots and introduced new influences to enrich his expression, pushing the modernization of Chinese ink art. "I believe it is relevant today, as Chinese ink art is still developing and looking for new directions," Chen adds.