IMAGINE painting vibrantly at the age of 103. This is Zhu Qizhen, China's most senior living artist, whose works of dashing colours and energy would make young viewers exclaim, ''Do these truly come from a centenarian?'' The 128 pieces of Zhu's art, now displayed at the Special Exhibition Gallery of the Hong Kong Cultural Centre, is a fascinating colour feast.
For Zhu, colour is as important as Chinese ink, both of which he uniquely and boldly combines to create a striking graphic quality that distinguishes him from among his more traditional contemporaries.
''His paintings are messages of health and happiness. Viewers derive an unparalleled sense of confidence in life from them,'' commented Dr Leo K. K. Wong, who owns the collection and is a good friend of the artist.
Yet one could hardly expect such zeal from an artist who has lived through the ups and downs of three eras: the Qings, the Kuomintang and now the Communists.
At 91, Zhu had his first largest exhibition in Beijing, after a hibernating period during the Cultural Revolution when a lot of his works were burnt.
As resilient as his Narcissus in Snow (1977), which does not bend under severe weather, Zhu emerged from the revolution with even stronger and more brilliant colouration.