The Grand Opening of Wen Jung Hsu’s After a Thousand Miles World Tour Exhibition at FGY Art Gallery Christchurch
On 14th January 2020, Fo Guang Yuan (FGY) Art Gallery Christchurch held the grand opening of International Artist Wen Jung Hsu’s After a Thousand Miles World Tour Exhibition. Close to 150 public participated in this grand event, including Gallery Curator Venerable Abbess Manshin, and Gallery operation Manager Venerable Jue Xi, New Zealand’s Office of Ethnic Communities Advisors Candy Wu Zhang, Peace Bell New Zealand Chapter member David Bolam-Smith, artists Paul Deans, Penny Wright, Leonore Ashby, Natalia Dybova, pianist Ross James Mcdermott and his wife, PEETO language school founder Patrick O 'Connor, friends of FGY Gayel Marquet, President of Buddha’s Light International Association (BLIA) South Island Bernie, BLIA South Island committee Directors and public guests.
The grand opening kicked off with the ribbon-cutting ceremony. In her opening speech, Gallery Curator Venerable Abbess Manshin said that in this difficult time when the whole World is facing Covid-19 pandemic, this FGY Art Exhibition plays a pivotal and important role in bringing colour, joy and hope to the Society. Artist Wen Jung Hsu presents the essence of his life's works in this After a Thousand Miles – Wen Jung Hsu World Tour Exhibition and by having the Exhibition on tour, Artist Wen Jung hopes to share his art works with art lovers from all over the World. During the tour, Wen Jung encounters Covid-19 pandemic and faces big challenges in scheduling the Exhibitions and in the transportation of the exhibits. After a year of twists and turns, he is finally able to present the artworks to the public in Christchurch. Each piece of work has got a moving story behind it and this has enhanced the significance and value of the exhibition.
Pianist Ross James Mcdermott came to realise that Artist Wen Jung used lines to connect the objects in his paintings. He was deeply amazed by the artistic background of the exhibited art pieces which were also full of profound philosophy. As for the Sculptures, intricate lines exhibiting a great sense of interconnectivity were used to form the outlines of main sculptures, and then sculptures of children and cows were added to the main sculptures to covey the story contents. Just like the people attending the opening ceremony gathering together for this event were connected by some form of affinity, the sculptures were formed by connecting the lines in an intricate way. Gayel Marquet, a friend of FGY, participated in the setting up of this Exhibition. She observed that Wen Jung’s artistic quality could be judged from the masterpieces in the Exhibition; and the robustness of the cabinets for the exhibits reflected the hardships encountered at the touring and transportation stages; and by observing the manners the Exhibition was set up, we could see how each member of the team put in their best effort for the job. Each of the above observations told a moving story. Gayel felt that she was fortunate to have the opportunity to attend this astounding exhibition and she hoped all the other audience to this exhibition will be similarly rewarded.
After the speeches by the guests of honour, Abbess Manshin introduced the Exhibition's theme Sculpture After a Thousand Miles to the audience. Abbess used the flow of lines of the Sculpture to cleverly tell the life history of Venerable Master Hsing Yun and to describe the paths Master has taken in the propagation of Humanistic Buddhism, travelling through thousands of mountains and rivers across the five continents of the World. Artist Wen Jung Hsu’s works not only show the beauty of oriental art, but also reflect the Cha’n and wisdom of Buddhism.
While going through the Exhibition, the audience were awe-struck by the masterpieces of Artist Wen Jung. Candy Wu Zhang was very happy to attend the opening ceremony of After a Thousand Miles Exhibition, especially after seeing different ethnic groups of Christchurch attended this event to experience the peace and compassion of Buddhism. Copper-wire artist Leonore Ashby felt honoured to be invited to this opening ceremony. She felt that in the face of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the beauty of arts can inject positivity to the public and provide vitality to the Society. Natalia Dybova, who is a Russian oil painter herself, was delighted to see Artist Wen Jung Hsu’s alternatively styled oil paintings. These had opened her eyes and she believed that this Exhibition could promote artistic and cultural exchanges between the East and the West.
After the opening ceremony, the participants were treated to a sumptuous tea party. The participants had a happy and joyful night and were deeply impressed with the After A Thousand Miles Exhibition. They promised to revisit the Exhibition and will bring their families and friends along to share in the enjoyment. The After A Thousand Miles World Tour Exhibition will be held from 9th January to 28th March at the FGY Art Gallery Christchurch.