NEW YORK, Dec. 19 (Xinhua) -- A solo oil painting exhibition by Chinese artist Zhao Xiaohui opened Wednesday at the Flushing City Town Hall Gallery in New York City, featuring decades of work that highlights quiet observation, realism and the inner life of ordinary people.

At the opening, Josh Selig, a Emmy-winning animation producer, noted that Zhao's paintings offer a striking contrast to the visual overload of modern life, dominated by screens and artificial intelligence.

"Her work is quiet. It makes us pause. It allows us to truly see," said Selig, founder and president of China Bridge Content, emphasizing Zhao's long-term depictions of Hui'an women from Fujian Province, China, and their resilience, dignity and everyday labor.

Renowned Chinese art theorist Wang Zhong, former editor-in-chief of the Art Magazine at the China Artists Association, sent handwritten congratulatory remarks to the exhibition.

In his message, Wang, 81, commended Zhao's lifelong commitment to realism, craftsmanship and spiritual depth. He wrote that true art transcends politics, race and time, concluding with the phrase, "the flower scent remains unchanged," a metaphor for artistic integrity and continuity.

Born in northeastern China's Heilongjiang Province, Zhao was admitted in 1986 to the Luxun Academy of Fine Arts, where she studied traditional Chinese painting. She later pursued oil painting in the United States and earned a Master of Fine Arts degree from the New York Academy of Art in 1999. Her work has been exhibited in both China and the United States for more than four decades.

The exhibition runs through Dec. 22. ■