Growing up in the Inner Mongolian autonomous region, Yang Feiyun gained firsthand experience of its vitality from the expanses of grassland, sky and clouds, as well as the sunlight, which all helped in shaping his sensibilities of colors and light. His early years as a railway station worker allowed him the time to observe people coming and leaving, as he painted their portraits in his mind.

These early experiences inspired the works that helped him rise to a well-established oil artist. In both his landscapes and portraits, he renders rich emotions and implications that evoke his collective memories among his audiences.

A Full Life, Yang's ongoing exhibition at Suzhou Museum in Jiangsu province, reviews his career by gathering 59 paintings made over the past two decades. While his works embrace a neoclassical genre, Yang has also injected Eastern poetry to present a serene, meditative mood. The exhibition runs until Dec 14.