Hosted by the Guangdong Museum, Focus: Integration of Art Between China and the West in the 18th-19th Centuries is on display in No. 1 and No. 2 Exhibition Halls of the Guangdong Museum, running until March 26, 2023. This exhibition was strongly supported by numerous institutions, including the Cultural Affairs Bureau of the Macao SAR Government, the Macao Museum of Art, the Hong Kong Museum of Art of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department of the Hong Kong SAR Government, the Guangdong Museum of Art, the Opium War Museum, the Guangzhou Thirteen Hongs Museum, and the Xinhui Museum of Jiangmen City. Following A Tale of Three Cities, this exhibition is another major original showcase under the Guangdong Museum's "Chinese Export Art Series" exhibition and academic research brand. It is the first comprehensive presentation of export paintings acquired by the Guangdong Museum over the past 20 years and the first panoramic special exhibition in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area to interpret export paintings.

Relying on the Guangdong Museum's distinctive collection, and joined by multiple cultural and museum institutions in the Greater Bay Area known for their historical painting collections, this exhibition meticulously selects over 140 pieces/sets. Starting from the three dimensions of integration—artistry, techniques, and materials—it presents the “Guangzhou era” of artistic dialogue and integration between Chinese and foreign artists in the 18th and 19th centuries. In these centuries, Guangzhou stood as a key node in the global trade network, serving as a gateway for cultural and artistic exchanges. Here, painting media and techniques from China and the West were adapted and blended; here, Chinese and foreign artists jointly portrayed local landscapes, daily life, and customs; here, hybrid artworks set sail for the West, becoming highly coveted novelties. Diverse artistic tastes gradually evolved across time and geography. As historical records, these blended works continue to influence artistic development today.

The first part of the exhibition, “Integration in Artistry”, examines the artistic circle centered on George Chinnery and the emergence of the “Chinnery's style”. The second part of the exhibition, “Integration in Technique”, explores intercultural dialogue through genres such as botanical, maritime, landscape, portrait, and genre painting. The second part of the exhibition, "Integration in Material", provides a panoramic overview of material convergence in oil, watercolor, gouache, sketching, and printmaking. The exhibition demonstrates how Guangzhou export painters innovated in artistry, technique, and materials to create new art forms that met Western tastes for “Chinese style”, thereby shaping the “Guangzhou era” of artistic dialogue and integration between Chinese and foreign artists in the 18th and 19th centuries. Export painting served not only as a historical record but also as an inspiration for the development of modern Chinese oil painting.

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