Backstage in Peking Opera, a made-up actress chats into her mobile phone - a jarring contrast with the imperial beauty who sings on stage. A bored emperor smokes a cigarette. It's an unusual exhibit of unscripted moments of the highly scripted art form.

Highly stylized Peking Opera has long been favored as a subject by painters for its vivid costumes, stage settings and cultural elements. While most opera artists paint actors on stage, Wang Zhanxin offers a behind-the-scenes peek at spontaneous moments backstage.

More than 50 of the Peking Opera stage designer's oil paintings capture spontaneous moments or view the stage itself from the perspective of the backstage and wings. They depict performers applying theatrical makeup, sitting on a chair and waiting between acts and practicing in the wings, glimpses into a different world.

An actress speaks into her mobile phone, another smokes a cigarette. Wang captures the spontaneous expressions without the greasepaint, or sometimes the expressions revealed despite the greasepaint.

Wang's exhibition is underway at the Shun Art Gallery at 50 Moganshan Road through the end of the month.

The Beijing-based artist was not originally a fan of Peking Opera since she didn't like the slow rhythm of Chinese traditional opera at first. But as a stage designer, she spent plenty of time on and around stage, arranging the costumes and designing the stage lighting.

"I used to see the opera stage in the perspective of the whole arrangement and lighting," says Wang.

At first glance, her vivid and natural paintings look like photographs, since visitors can easily catches the vibrant lights and shadows. However, the seemingly clear strokes and lines do not actually depict a specific opera figure, or anything in detail.

What fascinates Wang most about Peking Opera is the perfect color combinations in costumes. "I love the colors that are used, such as red, green, yellow and blue," she says. "The combination of pure but bright colors is truly a visual enjoyment for viewers."

After watching Peking Opera for 14 years, Wang developed a deeper understanding of this traditional art form and became fascinated by the mysterious backstage.

"For me, everything behind the scenes is a mystery, you don't know what is going on unless you see it with your own eyes," the curious young artist says.

"Backstage is totally a different world from the performance world. It is usually in a mess," says Wang. "An actress holding a mobile phone sending messages, performers hurrying on stage and off stage. It is so interesting."

Wang captures the natural moments of the backstage scenes, and creates a calm environment in her paintings. She compares the stage and backstage with "day and night."

"On the stage, artists wearing heavy makeup and costumes precisely perform under the bright stage lights," she says. "However, when they go backstage, everything goes darker, the colorful costumes are wrapped up in the dim light."

Her backstage paintings reflect performers' mental states and spontaneous, unconscious movements before they go on the stage.

She paints the figures in a realistic manner, adding abstract color blocs in contrast. The light and shadow is the "life" of her painting.

Wang started her backstage opera series in 2005.

"I am an innovative person and always trying to find something new," says Wang. "I am content with my own ideas, even if they are not mature enough. At least, they represent my own style."

In her view, what makes a great artist is his or her unique characteristic. "This is what I am pursuing," says the artist.

Date: through August 31, 10 AM - 6 PM
Address: Bldg 3, 50 Moganshan Rd
Tel: (+86)21-5252-7198

(Shanghai Daily August 17, 2007)