Slovakia: Practitioner’s Painting Exhibition Successfully Held in Bratislava

An exhibition of paintings by Australian Falun Gong practitioner Zhang Cuiying is being held this week in Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. The opening ceremony of the exhibition began with a short speech by the President of the Bratislava European House. This was followed by a speech from a scholar of Fine Art who talked about Zhang Cuiying’s paintings and her background, including how Falun Gong enabled her to overcome crippling arthritis that almost destroyed her ability to paint. The scholar also outlined the persecution of Falun Gong, creating a stark contrast with the beauty and serenity of Mrs. Zhang’s paintings. The artist thanked both of the speakers by giving each of them one of her paintings.

The speeches were followed by a demonstration of the Falun Gong exercises, accompanied by a practitioner with a microphone who explained each set of exercises and the music of “Ji Shi”, composed by a Dafa practitioner, playing in the background. The onlookers watched quietly, and rewarded the practitioners with a generous round of applause.

Mrs. Zhang demonstrated her skills by painting a flower. During her painting, she explained how the internal state of the painter is important in creating a beautiful picture and how the state of their heart and mind affects the outcome of the piece. She stressed how her teachers reminded her that in order to paint a nice painting, the artist must cultivate the inner self first. She also outlined the similarities between painting and Qigong.


Many people took their time to look carefully at the exhibition and admired the inner beauty of the paintings. One of the visitors at the opening ceremony was the Bratislavan Vice-Minister of Culture. After he was given one of Zhang Cuiying’s paintings, he declared that it is so beautiful that he will make it available for everyone to see in the city gallery.