On 16th June 2021, New Zealand artist Sarah Deans, along with cousin Paul Deans and friends, visited Fo Guang Yuan (FGY) Art Gallery Christchurch, and they were welcomed by Gallery Curator Venerable Abbess Manshin. In 2018, Sarah Deans, a member of Christchurch’s Deans family, held a Solo Exhibition the Flower Portraits and conducted a Sharing Session at FGY Art Gallery Christchurch. The audience who attended the Exhibition then spoke highly of Sarah’s paintings and praised her for her profound artistic talents. Since then, Sarah had joined and become a Friend of FGY, and often came to the Gallery to visit various exhibitions. Every of her visit was able to fill Sarah with joy and impart her with positive energy.
On the day of the visit, Sarah visited Yao Hong-Ying’s Magnificence of Embroidery Exhibition and she was full of praises for the exquisite embroidery works on display. She believed that the delicate and elegant embroideries could not be matched and produced in paintings. As an artist, Sarah could feel Yao Hong Ying’s dedication and diligence in her work and the joy Yao experienced in her creative process. Sarah praised FGY Art Gallery Christchurch for holding such a high-level art exhibition.
The day of the visit coincided with Sarah’s Birthday. Abbess presented her with a copy of Venerable Master Hsing Yun’s book 366 Days with Wisdom, blessing her with Master Hsing Yun’s Dharma words of wisdom. Afterwards, Abbess expressed her hope to see Sarah continue to create more beautiful paintings to add colours and richness to the lives of the people of Christchurch.
Sarah and her cousin Paul are currently planning a family Joint Exhibition at FGY Art Gallery Christchurch in 2022. The Deans family is well-known in Christchurch and there are many different types of artists in the family. The history and development of the Deans family have a great influence on Christchurch. For this reason, FGY Art Gallery hopes that through the Deans family Joint Exhibition, the public will be able to re-live this warm cultural history together with the Deans family.
