A foreign artist explains a painting to a visitor at the 2018 Hands Across Pacific art exhibition in Zhoushan Art Museum. [Photo/ zhoushan.cn]

An art exhibition featuring art works from countries along the Pacific Rim opened on Nov 15 in Zhoushan, East China's Zhejiang province, where 37 artists from these countries gathered and exchanged their inspiring ideas on art. 

The 2018 Hands Across Pacific art exhibition displayed 86 art works from nine countries along the Pacific Rim, including China, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Indonesia, Japan, Poland, Malaysia, Philippines and Singapore. It will last until Nov 21.

The works cover the genres of print, oil painting, watercolor, and traditional Chinese painting, among which there are 23 art pieces from a local school of art specializing in ocean painting. 

"As an island city abundant in fish and water, Zhoushan is one of my inspiration sources," said Myohseki Shimura, a famous Japanese calligrapher and seal engraver, whose print The Bond Between Water and Fish won unanimous acclaim at the exhibition. 

"The close bond between water and fish can be found in both Chinese and Japanese cultures, and so I created the piece to signify the friendship between the two nations," added Shimura.

The exhibition, established early this century, has been held for 17 times in the world, and has become a well-known art exchange platform in Asia.

It is the second time that the city has held the event, with the previous one seen in the city last year.

Co-hosted by the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries and the Zhoushan government, the exhibition was coupled with an art seminar at a local international school, where artists from Pacific Rim countries engaged in a discussion about multicultural traditions and different art theoretical systems, and conducted art counseling to the students at the school. 

By extending the exhibition into a comprehensive art event integrating exhibition, discussion and counseling, the organizing committee aimed to enrich the art exchanges between Pacific Rim nations and increase the influence of Zhoushan on the Pacific Rim with its marine culture and economy.