1 Sept 2014
PRESS RELEASE
International Art Exhibition
8 – 26 October 2014
11am-6pm
gallery@oxo
Oxo Tower Wharf
Bargehouse Street, South Bank
London SE1 9PH
Free Admission
Private View
9 October, 6:30pm-8:30pm
(RSVP to Joy Felix)
This art is meant to inform the viewer, inspire the soul, and enable the spirit.
Many viewers of the exhibition have remarked at the sense of peace, calm and beauty
that they feel standing in the presence of these works.
The Art of Zhen, Shan, Ren (Truthfulness, Compassion, Tolerance) has toured more than 50
countries and 800 cities worldwide since July 2004.
Storytelling has long been one of fine art’s greatest joys, and this exhibition’s ability to cross
cultural, lingual and ethnic barriers is highlighted each time it is shown.
At the heart of the works are truth, compassion and tolerance – universal qualities that form the
cornerstone of human morality. The artists take inspiration from these principles, seeking a
return to orthodox art form and creating more than just beautiful art.
Through deeply expressive Renaissance-style oil painting and traditional Chinese watercolour,
the artists grapple with questions of good and evil, divinity and the true meaning of life.
New York resident professor Zhang Kunlun, whose paintings and sculptures have appeared in
Who’s Who in the World, brought together the collective of diverse artists following his
detention as a prisoner of conscience in China for his practice of Falun Gong – an ancient
Chinese tradition of meditation and self-improvement. United in their shared beliefs, the artists
express both the beauty of living a spiritual life and the grim realities of persecution, ultimately
leaving viewers with a sense of hope.
An inspiring exhibition not to be missed.
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For further press information please contact
Joy Felix on 07946 591198; email joyfelix3@msn.com
or
Yukari Werrell on 07580 361962; email yukari@blue-earth.co.uk
The Art of Zhen Shan Ren (UK) Registered Charity Number: 1141994
Presented in conjunction with the Falun Dafa Association (UK)
gallery@oxo is owned and managed by Coin Street Community Builders: coinstreet.org
Meet the Artists (7 min DVD)
Recent Media Coverage
Groundbreaking Fine Art Lands in Georgian Scotland (The Epoch Times)
York
Biographies of selected artists
Kunlun Zhang
A prisoner of conscience in China in 2001, Kunlun Zhang is one of contemporary China’s most
accomplished sculptors. Zhang is a graduate of the Sculpture Department of the Art Institute of
China, and alongside sculpture he specialises in oil painting and Chinese painting. Zhang has
served as Director of the Sculpture Institute of the Shandong Art Institute, as well as Director of
its Sculpture Research Institute. Zhang has exhibited in China and worldwide and has received
many awards. He is listed in ‘Who’s Who in the World’, ‘The Encyclopaedia of Outstanding
Chinese’, ‘Collected Works of the World’s Sculpture’ and other publications.
Xiaoping Chen
Born in China, Michelle Xiaoping Chen is an accomplished painter and has lived in Canada for
the last several years. She studied watercolour and ceramics at the University of Mariana and has
shown her work in private exhibitions. Her work has been reproduced in a variety of media,
including in art calendars, book illustrations and book covers. Having received many awards in
China, in 1998 Chen was named as “Outstanding Artist” by the governor of the Commonwealth
of the Northern Mariana Islands. Chen was the Gold prize-winner of the NTDTV Chinese
International Figure Painting Competition in 2009.
Xiqiang Dong
Xiqiang Dong is an accomplished painter with degrees from the Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts
and the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing. Formerly Professor and the resident artist at
the Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts he was also an artist at China’s Central Institute of Fine Art.
Dong has received many awards for his work, winning the highest honours at the prestigious
National Arts Gallery in China in 1993.
Kathleen Gillis
Kathleen Gillis is an artist and art teacher with a degree from the University of Ottawa. She has
shown her work in a number of commercial and public galleries, art centres, and alternative
spaces in Canada and abroad. Gillis has received grants and awards at regional, provincial and
national level and her works form a part of art collections at Canada Council Art Bank, City of
Ottawa, Carleton University and at University of Ottawa. Her work has been exhibited as
installations, land art, and large-scale paintings.
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