An exhibition of a Chinese artists couple, Xiao Shu and Zhao Lei, is held from June 11 to 22 in Sydney, Australia. It is sponsored by the Australia-China International Exchange Center. The exhibition is held in the museum of China Culture Center in Sydney, and it opens to the public from Monday to Saturday. 

Xiao Shu originally named Han Mingkui, was born in 1940. His work, the 100-meter-long sheepskin scroll Chinese Divine Ox, finished in 1999, was appraised to worth 8,000,000 yuan (about US$967,000) by several worldwide famous experts. And he is more than a painter -- he is also specializing in calligraphy, poetry, seal cutting, mathematics and social activities. His famous calligraphy work -- Wind and Cloud (Fengyun) is stamped with more than 200 seals of statesmen across the world.

Xiao has made several exhibitions overseas. He visited Japan and attended some culture activities there in 1992, 1999 and 2002 respectively; exhibited his works and gave lectures in the Asian Gallery in South Korea twice, in 1994 and 1995; and visited Singapore in 2002.

Zhao Lei, Xiao Shu's wife, is now a life-long professor of fine arts of the World Chinese Remote Education College of Hong Kong, the honorary president of Far-East Chinese Exchange Center of Culture and Art, a member of the China Artists Association and an academician of the Beijing Dongfang Shenzhou Painting and Calligraphy Academy.

She had her personal painting shows in the China Art Gallery in 1994 and the Beijing Art Store in 1996.

Zhao was twice invited to Japan to give lectures and display her art works, and twice to the Republic of Korea. A Great Stretch of Land with Over Flying Clouds in Guizhou, has been collected by the World Chinese Calligraphy and Painting Exhibition. Her work Early Spring of Yunling won the Special Gold Prize at the third Chinese Art Exhibition held in Hong Kong. Her painting Xuankong Temple was awarded the silver prize at the 2000 Chinese Art Exhibition. She was listed in the Newsmaker of China in 1995.

The couple was both listed in the Who's Who of Contemporary World. A show of their paintings and calligraphy works was held at the Beijing Curio City in July 2001 and again in Singapore in October 2002.

Displays at the present Sydney exhibition are dozens of their works, including Xiao Shu's 22-meter-long scroll Freshness, calligraphy Wind and Cloud, traditional Chinese painting Scenery of Mount Qilian and Scenery of Mount Tianshan; and Zhao Lei's traditional Chinese painting Xuankong Temple, Fishery Girl and Mount Shennu by the Yangtze River.

(China.org.cn translated by Chen Lin June 11, 2004)