New Delhi, March 13 (IANS): Colourful pictures of nature, plants and lifestyle is what 22 artists from the Singapore Art Society (SAS) have brought to the national capital through paintings depicting multicultural hues of Singapore's cosmopolitanism.

In a cultural exchange, the SAS has joined hands with the Art Spice gallery of the Metropolitan Hotel to showcase 44 works from Singapore-based artists. The exhibition was launched Wednesday evening.

The exhibition is titled "Nanyang", a term that denotes the cultural-specific regional identity of the Chinese population in Southeast Asia.

According to its curator, Vidhya Gnana Gouresan, the term "Nanyang style" is basically a composite formulation of styles and techniques from the Chinese pictorial traditions.

"This art form emerged as a genre of its own with the constant reinforcement of a practicing group of artists who featured prominently within the Singaporean cultural scene in the years after the end of the Second World War," she said.

"Most of the artists of this exhibition are indeed representatives of the spirit of the Nanyang style," she added.

The paintings mounted at the gallery here have stark Chinese influence. Chinese splash paintings and blurred images of people and city life dominate the canvasses of the artists.

Singaporean artist Terence Teo Chin Keong has taken inspiration from rain forests for his oeuvre. Using Chinese ink painting through the interplay of elements of traditional Chinese and modern art, he has created an "impressionist contemporary" mix.

"I use Chinese ink and Chinese rice paper to create a space that is close to modern decoration," he told IANS.

"Nature inspires me, but I didn't want to paint the rainforest the way it is. There is a bit of colour and darkness, depending on what I want to portray," he added.

The exhibition is on till March 21.