Contemporary Chinese Art
“Vases,” Fan Ming Hwa, Gouache on rice paper, 33 x 33 inches, Yunnan Art.
The vase is regarded in China as an emblem of perpetual harmony. In construction, it follows the curves of the female form (yin). The parrot, popular in the Shang and mid-western Zhou periods, is common in the Yunnan province, and is often depicted on pottery. In this artwork, the artist has overlapped non-traditional color patterns in the living and inanimate subjects, as well as the association of the vase with the female form.