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Ping An - Peace VII

2008-09

Chinese, born 1944

Contemporary Chinese artist Wang Huaiqing takes one of the most recognizable symbols of Chinese art and culture—the meiping vase—and literally turns it on its head. The playfully subversive move underscores the overturning of the past and at the same time delivers an auspicious message—that peace has arrived. A vase (ping) is homophonous with the Chinese word for peace, while the Chinese word for upside down (dao) is a homophone for “to arrive.” The red line represents a close-up, frontal view of a table (an), another word in Chinese for stability and harmony, reinforcing Wang’s message of hope.

Oil on canvas

84 1/4 x 45 3/16 in. (215 x 115 cm) framed

Gift of the artist, Xu Qinghui and Wang Tiantian

2010.40

Not currently on view

Resources

Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Asian Art Museum, "Conceal/Reveal," December 20, 2014 - June 21, 2015

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, "Luminous: The Art of Asia", October 13, 2011 - January 8, 2012

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Wang Huaiqing: A Painter’s Painter in Contemporary China, November 18, 2010 – April 10, 2011

Published ReferencesYiu, Josh, et al., Wang Huaiqing: A Painter’s Painter in Contemporary China, Barcelona: Ediciones Poligrafa, 2010, page 228

Upchurch, Michael. "'Conceal/Reveal' at Seattle Asian Art Museum," in The Seattle Times, January 2, 2015, online (http://seattletimes.com/html/thearts/2025353004_saamconcealrevealxml.html)

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