Like most painters' homes, the living room of China's famous artist Han Meilin is like a gallery,with gaily-colored hand-made pottery placed on either side of the TV set.

When looking through the album of his artistic works, the 65-year-old artist looked relaxed as if was returning to his youth.

Known as "Picasso" in the orient, Han is currently holding an exhibition in the China National Arts Gallery with over 3,000 artworks on show.

Filling 11 exhibition halls, it is the largest individual exhibition ever held by the state gallery.

Having designed the Beijing Olympic Games bidding logo and Air China's phoenix logo, Han has already created artistic masterpieces in many fields, including painting, calligraphy, pottery-making, sculpture and folk handicraft. His versatility is paralleled to that of the great Spanish artist Picasso.

On display are traditional Chinese paintings of human bodies, calligraphy using forgotten ancient characters, a "Mother and Child" sculpture series, bronze ware with the theme of "War and Peace" as well as pottery in specific styles and colors.

Visitors to the show are surprised by his amazing creativity. "I feel myself reaching the summit. No matter what happens, it cannot stop my creativity," Han said.

Once while eating and chatting with friends, the artist painted 93 owls in less than an hour.

However, constant overwork has made the artist ill. This year, Han underwent major surgery because of severe heart disease.

Looking back on the operation which almost caused his death, Han said smilingly, "the devil disliked my slackness and drove me out. He told me I still have another 100 years to live."

Actually, Han has had many tribulations in his life. During the"Cultural Revolution", he was shut in a cowshed. He chose to paintowls to express his composed attitude toward all the wrongs done to him.

The pictures of the lovely bird with one eye open and the otherclosed are masterpieces showing how much he despised those chaotictimes.

Not long after recovering from his illness in June, Han went with his studio staff to Yuzhou City in central China's Henan Province, the birthplace of ancient ceramics. In their two months there, he and his students created over 1,000 pottery pieces.

Han considers his intense love of Chinese traditional culture the springboard for his passionate creativity.

The "Mother and Child" sculptures symbolize a mother's love, which reflects China's traditional ethics; while the calligraphy and bronze ware displays his admiration for the country's rich culture.

Han Meilin started sculpture late in his life, which brought censure from art circles because of the "impurity" of his art.

"Those harsh words made me determined to create sculptures. It's my persistent pursuit of creativity that brings me into the boundless artistic worlds previously undiscovered by me," said Han.

At the current exhibition, visitors can see miniatures of many huge sculptures he has created for domestic cities, including Shenzhen, Wuhu and Beijing.

The artist is now dedicated to promoting traditional Chinese artto the world. Han revealed that he will establish his own gallery in the United States next year in co-operation with the Chicago Academy of Arts.

Han Meilin's first touring exhibition which was shown in 21 U.S.cities in 1980 was a great success. He has also held art exhibitions in over 30 countries and regions all over the world.

When referring to his own work, Han said, "I treasure each creation. But I am satisfied with none because I regard myself as a pupil, who should get better every day."

(Xinhua News Agency January 3, 2002)