Thought of a Buddhist Practitioner Floral Exhibition Earning Praises from Kiwi Artist
On 8th September 2020, renowned New Zealand artist Keith Morant and wife Tricia Morant visited Fo Guang Yuan (FGY) Art Gallery Christchurch. They were welcomed on arrival by FGY Gallery Curator Venerable Abbess Manshin, Fo Guang Shan (FGS) South Island Minister-in-charge Venerable Jue Xi, and Buddha’s Light International Association (BLIA) South Island Director Kok Wei Low.
Afterwards, Abbess Manshin took Keith and Tricia for a tour of the Thought of a Buddhist Practitioner Floral Exhibition at the FGY Art Gallery, and introduced to them the new floral art pieces on display. Keith and Tricia praised Abbess Manshin for her endless creativity and enthusiasm in coming up with new floral pieces, all within a short span of less than two months after her floral shows at the Blessing Chocolatte 2020-Coffee and Chocolate Festival and Professor Kuo‘s Traditional Chinese Painting Exhibition. They praised and congratulated Abbess Manshin for showing improvements in her skills and for coming up with non-repetitive theme for each of her work.
Later, Venerable Jue Xi showed Keith and Tricia the hand painted Bodhisattva portraits that would be put up for the coming Dun Huang colour Painting Exhibition. After listening to the classic tales of Bodhisattva and understanding the significance of their portraits, Keith and Tricia commended and praised Venerable Jue Xi and the devotees for their dedications and for producing such beautiful drawings. This was more commendable because the participants have not gone through any art lessons and only used their own imaginations to produce the lively and colourful Bodhisattva portraits. Keith and Tricia remarked that they wished they and all others could be as solemn as the Bodhisattvas in the drawings, bringing joy and blissfulness to other people. They looked forward to the success of Dun Huang Colour Painting Exhibition.