Ink Tablet with "The Nine Sons" Design 1871 - 1933

Wen Ya Guo's ink tablet, circular, almost three feet in diameter, features a design called "The Nine Sons". Looking at this piece, I imagine Guo at work, maybe in his studio, or even outside, carefully carving into this big old slab. The grayscale emphasizes the textures and depth of the carving. I can almost feel the weight of the ink and the resistance of the material as the composition emerges. And I wonder what it might have been like for him to create this. Was he thinking about family, about legacy? What did "The Nine Sons" mean to him? Maybe he was thinking about the next generation and the world they will inherit. For me, it's a reminder that artists are always in conversation with each other, across time and space, exchanging ideas and inspiring new forms of expression. Guo's work embraces ambiguity, inviting us to contemplate the many layers of meaning embedded within its form.