Since its launching in January 2021 at Fu Guang Yuan (FGY) Art Gallery Christchurch, the After A Thousand Miles – Wen-Jung Hsu’s World Tour Exhibition has been well received by people from all walks of life, including artists, educators, retirees and the general public.
At the After A Thousand Miles Exhibition, New Zealand artist JK Weir was most impressed by the Ox series of paintings. She was of the opinion that this Ox series of paintings conveyed three main points: Respect for life (Respect), Passion for living (Liveliness) and Beauty of lines (Movement). Weir loved the painting Mother-Daughter Bond most. In the painting, Artist Wen-Jung Hsu portrayed very vividly the emotions and body lines of the Mother and Daughter Oxen. Also an artist herself, Weir felt that Artist Hsu’s artistic talents were unique and unparalleled. After her visit in January, Weir had been introducing the Exhibition to her students and friends. Weir’s students were amazed by Artist Hsu’s paintings and expressed their desire to learn Artist Hsu’s unique painting skills. Weir also brought her 90-year-old friend to the Exhibition. Her friend was very happy to visit the Exhibition and stayed there for a long time to appreciate the sculptures and paintings.
Retired New Zealand couple John and Adie admired the Eternal Legend sculpture most. To John and Adie, the sculpture took the shape of a human body but its head was formed by words of the Buddhist scripture. This was indeed the highest creative way of manifesting that the person’s head was full of Buddhist principles. The day of the couple’s visit to the Exhibition happened to fall on John’s birthday. John felt that the Exhibition had brought him great spiritual gains and he thanked Artist Hsu for this special birthday gift.
When Christchurch resident Janice visited the After A Thousand Miles Exhibition, she was amazed by the creative talents of Artist Hsu. She was particularly impressed by the unique sculptures, especially the theme sculpture – After A Thousand Miles, which she felt was describing a long journey in life. After learning that this was in fact a narrative of Venerable Master Hsing Yun’s life dedicated to Buddhism, and that Master has now reached the age of 95, Janice was deeply moved by Master’s formidable positive spirits.
Chiaki Bolam Smith, a staff member of the Canterbury Institute of Technology, was deeply touched by the sculpture The peacefulness of chan’ Forest, for it resonated well with her own experience. At the Institute, Chiaki was put in charge of the school dormitory. The students under her care came from all over New Zealand with no relatives to accompany them. Coupled this situation with the pressure of study, these students often had to face a lot of stresses. Chiaki’s duty was to provide counselling to these students when they face problems. Because of this, Chiaki was herself also under tremendous pressure. So whenever she was free from work, Chiaki would go to Port Hill to sit alone and meditate to alleviate the pressure. At the Exhibition, Chiaki was positively inspired and energised by the sculpture The peacefulness of chan’ Forest with which she found much resonance.
The After A Thousand Miles Exhibition will be on until 28th March 2021. Many visitors hope to revisit the Exhibition before it ends to appreciate this once-in-a-lifetime, high-quality, high-level Art Exhibition.
