The opening ceremony of ‘one leaf knows spring and autumn’ – China–Australia Artist Dialogue Exhibition was successfully held by China Cultural Centre in Sydney on 25th August 2022. Around 50 people participated in the opening ceremony including Mr. Xiayong Xiao, Director of China Cultural Centre and China National Tourist Office in Sydney, Australian art historian, art critic and educator, Dr. Christopher Allen, former Artistic Director of the Casula Powerhouse Sydney, the curator of this exhibition, Mr. Nicholas Tsoutas, the President of Australian Watercolour Institute, Mr. David van Nunen, our friends from the local art scene, as well as reporters from Xinhua News Agency, People’s Daily Online Australia, Southeast Net Australia, Australian Chinese Daily.
In his opening speech, Mr. Xiao said that the exhibition, a dialogue between Chinese and Australian artists, is another collaboration between the Centre and Australian famous curator Nicholas Tsouta. Five artists express their perceptions and understandings about the nature and the universe with their excellent creation approach, which lead the audience to reflect the beauty of the world. The vibrant artistic expressions and unique perspectives of the 28 representative works make the exhibition have more academic, artistic and humanitarian value. On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of China-Australia diplomatic relations, it is expected that the exhibition will promote the exchange and cooperation between China and Australia, bring the hearts of the two peoples closer and consolidate the popular foundation of the two nations.
Mr. Nicholas Tsoutas (left) and Dr. Christopher Allen (right) are giving their welcome speech.
Mr Tsoutas reviewed the curatorial process of the exhibition and introduced the creation characteristics of the five artists and their understanding about the beauty. He said that artists are playing an important role in the society. They asked different sets of questions and some approaches to the world problems were from artists. The exhibition tries to understand beauty from the perspective of life. He also extended his gratitude to China Cultural Centre for its collaboration and support.
Dr. Christopher Allen further shared his insight from a philosophical perspective on how the understanding of conception of beauty evolved in human society. He emphasized that human’s rationality enabled us to think from multiple perspectives and lead us to explore the meaning of beauty in the universe.
The exhibition presents 28 representative works from five artists with different cultural backgrounds and artistic styles from China and Australia. With nuanced observation and unremitting exploration, John Aslandis, Fangdong Wang, Hong Li, Elizabeth Pulie, and Qinhua Yao try to use cross-discipline elements and integrate Chinese and Australian different expressing systems to refine art creation from the perspective of theory and philosophy. The exchanges in the path of art exploration between them represent no doubt the cultural diversity of the world and common aspiration of beauty of the Mankind.
When still facing the serious challenge by the pandemic, China Cultural Centre in Sydney makes use of local resources to make this exhibition possible. While COVID-19 restrictions still apply, most invited guests come from an art background. This exhibition has received positive feedback from the art scen.
‘one leaf knows spring and autumn’ – China–Australia Artist Dialogue Exhibition opens to the public for free until 23rd September, 2022.
