A man visits an exhibition at Chinese Culture Center of San Francisco in San Francisco, the United States, on Feb. 22, 2018. Chinese Culture Center of San Francisco celebrated Chinese New Year of the Dog with a dog-themed artwork exhibition. (Xinhua/Wu Xiaoling)

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese New Year of the Dog has left a mark on San Francisco's art scene with a group of artists and designers on the U.S. West Coast coming up with an innovative and amusing dog-themed exhibition.

Titled "Dogs, Dogs, Dogs! A Lunar New Year Art Pop-Up", the exhibition opened Thursday at the Chinese Culture Center (CCC) in downtown Chinatown and will run through March 17, providing a fresh take on dogs and dog-themed art.

The pop-up show featuring more than 100 pieces of artwork has been curated by the local Sketchpad Gallery, and two artists -- Leon Sun of Chinese origin and Pamela Ybanez, a Filipino-American.

The exhibition is part of the annual events hosted by the CCC during the Spring Festival, Jenny Leung, director of communications at the CCC, told Xinhua.

"The pop-ups have a fresh take on Chinese tradition because a lot of our work is about engaging the next generation, who are interested in art and Chinese cultural heritage," she said.

Tamiko Wong, the program director, said the exhibits are from both professional and amateur artists, all of whom are interested in the theme.

"The exhibition coincides with the Year of the Dog, but I was sort of thinking about the dedication dogs have and the connection between humans and the animal," Ybanez said. "Dogs are friends of humans, and they are almost like children."

Sun, who came to the United States as a child, has a painting of his own dog sitting silently beside a man. He said it is meant to reflect the bond between human beings and dogs.

He said dogs were also a kind of teacher. "Dogs only know the present moment, and that enlightens me and I learn from it that we should seize the moment and live in the present," Sun said.

The exhibition will help people learn about the traditional heritage of China, he added.