‘SPIRIT OF THE EAST: BEAUTY OF THE LANDSCAPE’ EXHIBIT OPENS AT HEADQUARTERS ON 19 DECEMBER

Note to Correspondents

‘SPIRIT OF THE EAST:  BEAUTY OF THE LANDSCAPE’ EXHIBIT

OPENS AT HEADQUARTERS ON 19 DECEMBER

A photographic and art exhibition entitled “Spirit of the East:  Beauty of the Landscape” will open with a formal ceremony and reception on Monday, 19 December 2005 at 6 p.m. in the Main Gallery of the General Assembly Visitors’ Lobby.  This major exhibit forms part of a year-long series of commemorative exhibits marking the sixtieth anniversary of the founding of the United Nations.

The exhibit presents a collection of photographs and paintings designed as a tribute to the idea of “living together with nature”, featuring two prominent Asian artists, the Chinese fine art photographer Wang Wusheng and the Japanese master painter Kaii Higashiyama.  Both artists express the soul of the Orient while encompassing the spiritual beauty which lives in both the eastern and western aesthetic.

Chinese fine art photographer Wang Wusheng, currently gaining attention around the world, has committed his life’s work to Mount Huangshan in northern China, also known as the Yellow Mountains.  With his unique fine art photographs, he both reflects and transcends traditional Chinese landscape ink painting.

Kaii Higashiyama (1908-1999), one of Japan’s most celebrated painters, was best known for landscape painting, a genre he worked on throughout his life, particularly with large-scale works.  He is credited with developing a new style, combining elements of traditional Japanese painting with a modern feel for outline and dimensions.

The exhibit is organized by the Spirit of the East Exhibition Committee, in cooperation with the United Nations Department of Public Information (UNDPI) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).  Additional support is provided by the Permanent Missions of Japan and of the People’s Republic of China to the United Nations.  Major funding for this project was provided by Toyota Motor North America, Inc. and Canon Inc.  The “Spirit of the East” exhibit is a sponsored project of the New York Foundation for the Arts.

For more information on United Nations exhibitions, call Jan Arnesen, tel.:  (212) 963-8531; or Liza Wichmann, tel.:  (212) 963-0089, or visit the website at www.un.org/events/UNART.

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For information media • not an official record