Storytelling is one of fine art’s greatest joys, and this powerful exhibition crosses cultural, language, and ethnic barriers each time it is shown. At the heart of the works are truth, compassion and tolerance – universal qualities of human morality, which inspire the artists to create more than just beautiful art. Through classical-style oil painting and traditional Chinese watercolor, rendered with a sense of heightened realism, the artists grapple with questions of good and evil, spirituality, divinity and the true meaning of life – expressing themes of harmony, adversity, courage and justice.
Zhang Kunlun, one of contemporary China’s most accomplished sculptors and painters, brought together this accomplished collective of artists following his detention as a prisoner of conscience in China for practicing Falun Gong – a Chinese spiritual tradition of meditation and self-improvement. United in their shared beliefs and effort to stop the inhumane suppression of this peaceful practice by the Chinese communist government, the artists express both the beauty of living a spiritual life and the grim realities of persecution, leaving viewers with a sense of hope for humanity.