The word pronounced "Shangrila" comes from a Tibetan phrase, "the sun and moon in your heart," and it implies "a haven beyond the ordinary world." In the Western world, Shangrila has come to mean an ideal place of mystery, peace, and good fortune somewhere in the East.

Any mention of Shangrila inevitably conjures up thoughts of Tibet. British author James Hilton, in his 1933 novel "Lost Horizon," described Shangrila as a world of eternal peace, with clean blue skies, colorful banners fluttering in the breeze, simple homes and mysterious temples scattered throughout its valleys, and young Tibetan children, with brown, smiling faces of great innocence, playing their games. Hilton's book was tremendously influential in the West, shaping the perceptions of later generations of Westerners toward an ideal Eastern society. Even today the idea of Shangrila remains appealing because everyone wants to find such a land of peace, harmony, and contentment.

If James Hilton was the author who described Shangrila most aptly in words, the artist who expresses the meaning of Shangrila most deeply in visual terms is Chiu Hsiente.

Artist Chiu Hsiente, after a baptism of many years of exploration in Tibet, projects through his large-scale watercolors all of his fervent love of art, his fascination and fondness for Tibet, and his veneration of nature. Chiu also continues to probe the creative limits possible in the watercolor medium and to experiment with new styles that help him express his ideal of an otherworldly utopia. His years of creative work and experimentation have produced a consummate technical command of the watercolor medium, greatly aiding his ability to give accurate expression to the inner feelings that move him.

Chiu Hsiente's works, beyond their ideal combinations of color and form, exude the vast and elusive ambience of Tibet. Through the visual medium of Chiu's paintings, hearts that are weary of the ordinary world can be restored in a place of peace and purity. These new large-scale watercolors by Chiu Hsiente will surely resonate with anyone who keeps in their heart a personal vision of their own Shangrila.