WHEN EAST MEETS EAST

Artist Nial Adams has always drawn inspiration from the ever-changing drama and wild beauty of his surroundings – but he never dreamed of swapping Norfolk’s landscapes for China

- Rachel Buller

Nial Adams’ large scale paintings of Norfolk’s atmospheric marshlands and unpredictable seas, tree-lined fields and vast open farm lands have won him a legion of admirers.

But in the autumn, Nial embarked on a two week art odyssey to China, where huge skies and vast swathes of empty fields stretching far to the horizon were replaced with a skyline pierced with spectacular craggy peaks, a watery landscapes dotted with ancient temples and the lush, vivid green vegetation of mountainous valleys.

Nial, who has a studio and gallery, Big Norfolk Skies, at his home in Hevingham, was part of a group of eight British artists, chosen for the When London Meets Wenzhou cultural exchange and art residency.

The project, set up and sponsored by the Nanxi Academy of Art in the Province of Zhejiang, aimed to bring western artists to experience the might and grandeur of the unspoiled Chinese landscape as well as teaching them more about local art and artists and wider tourism.

During the two week trip, the group, which included top British artists Robert King and Ann Blockley, visited the Nanxi River Valley, the mountains of Yandang, the coastline and islands of Dongtou and the big cities of Wenzhou, Hanzhou and other locations.