Lorenzo Chinnici tells China Daily: "I am very excited to have had the opportunity to collaborate and exhibit my works in China with Zhu Wei, one of the greatest contemporary masters of the art world. My exhibited paintings were personally selected by the master.

"The message is to convey the essence and culture of Sicilian and Italian art through my works. My colors speak of the Mediterranean, its smells and flavors."

While Lorenzo Chinnici has lived beside the sea most of his life, Zhu worked as a professor of art academies and moved to the United States in 1997, hosting solo exhibitions and giving lectures in both China and the US.