On April 26, 2025, Museum of Art Pudong launched this year's latest blockbuster exhibition, CHEN YIFEI: A RETROSPECTIVE ON ART AND LEGACY. Commemorating the 80th anniversary of Chen Yifei's birth, this retrospective stands as the most comprehensive showcase of his career to date, offering a panoramic view of his artistic evolution across different phases and highlighting his groundbreaking achievements in diverse fields. The exhibition will run until October 12, 2025, and is poised to become a landmark event in Shanghai's cultural calendar.

Chen Yifei (1946–2005) was a trailblazing figure in contemporary Chinese art, a torchbearer and visionary of Shanghai’s cultural legacy, a champion of “Total Art” and immersive visual culture, a guardian and innovator of Red Culture, a devoted contributor to urban cultural development, and a cultural envoy between China and the world.

The exhibition is divided into four sections: Earlier Years, A Leap of the Soul, Shanghai Zeitgeist, and The Era of Grand Vision. Featuring over 150 works spanning paintings, sculptures, films, publications, and manuscripts, the retrospective includes approximately 80 representative oil paintings from Chen's key series. It showcases his multidisciplinary practice under the concept of "Grand Vision, Total Art," illustrating how he propelled the integration and advancement of painting, film, fashion design, publishing, and public art amid sweeping societal changes. As the exhibition's title suggests, Chen Yifei embodied the zeitgeist of his era.

Highlighted works include: early masterpieces such as The Pioneers, Ode to the Yellow River, Seizing of the Presidential Palace, and Thinking of History at My Space. The Water Town series, including Zhou Zhuang and Sunset Suzhou, initiated during his time in the United States; iconic works from the Musicians series, such as The Flutist and Woman and Guitar; Shanghai-style the Noble Ladies series paintings like The Banquet, Lingering Melodies from the Xunyang River, and Beauties on Promenade; the Reveries on Old Shanghai series, epitomized by Warm Spring in the Jade Pavillion, which extended Chen's painting aesthetics into cinematic practice; the Tibetans series, including Wind of Mountain Village and The Green Grassland, which broke from his Romantic Realist tradition.

A special installation in the Museum's 3F Glass Hall features Chen's sole sculpture, Oriental Beauty. Within the exhibition hall, condensed versions of four films directed by Chen will be on view, such as Evening Liaison and Music Box. Archival materials interspersed throughout the four sections further enrich the exhibition, offering visitors an immersive journey into Chen Yifei's visionary world.