Liang Xiao Ping

Liang Xiao Ping (; born 1959), a pioneer in Australian Chinese calligrapher, also an artist, poet and scholar, is the first Chinese Australian artist to exhibit at Parliament House, Canberra. She was born in Guangzhou, China and migrated to Sydney in 1987.

Liang is the founding president of the Australian Oriental Calligraphy Society. The series of her artwork and poetry was presented to 2008 Beijing Olympic Games as a national gift by the Australian Olympic Committee, it is currently housed in National Sports Museum of China. Her artwork 'Rainbow' was collected by the Parliament House of NSW. Her work 'Prajna-Paramita' (Xin Sutra) was collected by the Art Gallery of New South Wales. Her solo exhibition was held by the China National Association of Calligraphers at the National Art Museum of China in Beijing. She was invited by universities such as Stanford University, University of New South Wales and Sydney Conservatorium of Music to have her solo exhibition, academic activities and onsite demonstration.

Major art activities

Year Art Activity Venue 2014 LIANG Xiao Ping · Poetry and Calligraphy, Art and Expression – Soaring to the Sky In celebration of Australian Citizenship Day 2014 and the 50th anniversary of Liang Xiao Ping's dedication to calligraphy Exhibition officiated by the Honourable Philip Ruddock MP Opening addresses: the Honourable Tony Abbott MP, Prime Minister of Australia and Senator the Honourable George Brandis representative: Senator the Honourable Concetta Fierravanti-Wells; Ma Zhaoxu, Chinese Ambassador to Australia and Hans Hendrischke, Professor of Chinese Business and Management, and chair of the executive committee of the China Studies Centre at the University of Sydney. Great Hall, Parliament House, Canberra 2014 LIANG Xiao Ping · Poetry and Calligraphy, Art and Expression – Theme and Variations Exhibition officiated by Li Huaxin, Consul General of the P.R.C. in Sydney The Concourse, Civic Pavilion, Chatswood, Sydney 2012 LIANG Xiao Ping · Poetry and Calligraphy, Art and Expression – Splashes of Ink – Tour de Hong Kong Exhibition supported by Australian Consulate-General in Hong Kong Officiated by Paul Tighe, Australian Consul-General in Hong Kong Hong Kong City Hall, Hong Kong 2011 Opening Ceremony – Collection of LIANG Xiao Ping's Art Piece: Clouds and Mountains, a Palindromic Poem Opening ceremony addresses: Dr Michael Spence, The University of Sydney Vice-Chancellor and Principal and Professor Kim Walker, Dean of Sydney Conservatorium of Music Sydney Conservatorium of Music, Sydney 2010 A. International symposium The Art of LIANG Xiao Ping and Her Philosophy and ThoughtsB. Exhibition Melody of Lines – the Brush of LIANG Xiao PingC. Onsite demonstration of Chinese calligraphy Co-presented by the University of Sydney Confucius Institute and Sydney Conservatorium of Music Sydney Conservatorium of Music, Sydney 2008 Presentation of Paean to the Beijing Olympiad – Palindromic poems and their expression in Chinese calligraphy by LIANG Xiao Ping, a gift to the 2008 Chinese Olympic Committee presented by the Australian Olympic Committee Hosted by the Chinese Olympic Committee Opening ceremony addresses: Graham Fletcher, Australian Embassy in China on behalf of the Honourable Kevin Rudd MP Prime minister of Australia, LIU Peng, President of Chinese Olympic Committee, John Coates, President of Australian Olympic Committee Chinese Olympic Committee Headquarters, Beijing 2008 Exhibition Homage to the Olympic Spirit – the Original Scripts of Olympic Gift, Paean to the Beijing Olympiad – Palindromic Poems and their Expression in Chinese Calligraphy by LIANG Xiao Ping The Parliament House of NSW, Sydney 2007 Unveiling of Parliament's New Art Acquisition of Chinese Calligraphy 'Rainbow' by LIANG Xiao Ping Hosted by the Legislative Council and the Legislative Assembly of the NSW Parliament Officiated by the Honourable Dr Meredith Burgmann, President of the NSW Legislative Council and the Honourable John Aquilina, the Leader of the NSW Legislative Assembly, attended by the Honourable Sir Laurence Street, former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of NSW and Qiu Shaofang, Chinese Consul-General in Sydney. The Parliament House of NSW, Sydney 2004 Tribute to the brush – An Exhibition of Chinese Calligraphy by LIANG Xiao Ping & Her Students Celebrating the 40th Anniversary of her dedication to calligraphy Officiated by Edmund Capon, Director of the Art Gallery of NSW The Parliament House of NSW, Sydney 1999 Spirit of the New Millennium – Chinese Calligraphy, the Brush of Liang Xiao Ping Officiated by Edmund Capon, Director of the Art Gallery of NSW Quadrivium Art Gallery, Queen Victoria Building, Sydney 1998 A. Exhibition Enlightenment – Chinese Calligraphy: The Brush of LIANG Xiao pingB. Symposium the Art of Chinese Calligraphy of LIANG Xiao Ping Hosted by the China Calligraphers' Association (China) National Art Museum of China, Beijing 1996 A. Exhibition Chasing Time and Light: The Brush of LIANG Xiao ping B. Lecture on Chinese Calligraphy, a Key to the Understanding of China C. Onsite demonstration of Chinese calligraphy Hosted by the Stanford University, USA Stanford University, USA

Other academic work Founded the accredited course of Chinese calligraphy for the Department of Chinese Studies, University of New South Wales Founded the course of Chinese brush art for the University of New South Wales College of Fine Arts Chief Judge of the First, 3rd, 4th, 5th Annual Australian Oriental Calligraphy Competition in 1992, 1994, 1995, 1996 Lectures and Demonstrations 2000 Founder and Principal of Academy of Chinese Calligraphy, Sydney 1995 Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney 1995 Brett Whiteley Studio, Sydney 1995 Produced and presented multicultural art program series on SBS radio station, Sydney

Signature artworks Soaring to the Sky Contemporary calligraphy written on canvas, using acrylic paint. Size: 1.2 m × 1.5 m × 4 pieces The Thousand Characters Classic A Thousand Characters Classic written by Liang Xiao Ping that consists of 88 scrolls (xuan paper mounted on silk scroll) in 21 different styles. Size: 1.35 m × 0.35 m × 88 pieces Endless Joy Contemporary calligraphy with palindromic couplets written on canvas, using acrylic paint. Size: 1.2 m × 10.5 m Prajnaparamita Heart Sutra This artwork consists of Prajnaparamita written in five styles on xuan paper mounted on silk scrolls. They have been displayed in various exhibitions of Liang Xiao Ping's, including those held in China National Gallery (Beijing, 1998), Hong Kong City Hall (2001), Parliament House of NSW (2004) and Sydney Conservatorium of Music (2010). Size: 5 m × 1.8 m × 5 pieces Poetic Fascination Three palindromic poem written in the seal script on xuan paper mounted in perspex sheet. They can be viewed both from front and back. This allows each single artwork to have four different narrations. Size: 1.35 m × 0.65 m × 3 pieces Eternity Contemporary calligraphy with palindromic couplets in oracle and cursive scripts, written on canvas using acrylic paint. Size: 1 m × 1.5 m × 4 pieces Theme and Variations Consists of 12 canvases that showcases the elegant morphology of a single art form. This art form can be viewed in three ways: a. In unison. Size: 2.3 m × 6.1 m × 1 piece b. As two separate entities where the top rows reflects the contemporary style and the bottom rows represent the traditional long horizontal scrolls. Size: Top 1 m × 6.1 m & Bottom 0.76 m × 6.1 m c. Each canvas as each individual characters with palindromic effects. This exhibit consists of 6 canvasses of 1.5 m × 1 m and 6 canvasses of 0.6 m × 1 m. Paean to the Beijing Olympiad palindromic poems and their expression in Chinese calligraphy The originals of the gift to the Chinese Olympic Committee, presented by the Australian Olympic Committee on behalf of the Australian people in 2008. Size: 1.4 m × 0.7 m × 32 pieces