Ai Weiwei (1957) - Coca Cola Glass Vase Red

Material: translucent red glass.

Edition: 300
Perfect, new, in its very heavy original box, it will be shipped via insured courier.

In this extraordinary edition of translucent red glass vases, precisely fused in iron molds on the renowned island of Murano, a historic center of glassmaking, Ai Weiwei continues to explore the complex relationship between tradition and modernity, art and consumerism. The work features the iconic Coca-Cola logo, applied through a refined technique that ensures the perfection of each individual vase, giving it an aura of industrial objectivity in contrast to the delicate nature of the glass.

Each vase bears the engraved signature of the artist on the base and is individually numbered. The work is delivered with a certificate of authenticity, which attests to both its exclusivity and its place within Ai Weiwei's ongoing artistic exploration.

This edition marks another chapter in the fascinating dialogue between the artist and traditional Chinese ceramics, a recurring theme throughout his career. From the controversial moment in 1995, when Ai Weiwei deliberately destroyed an invaluable Han dynasty urn in front of the camera, to the series in which he hand-painted the iconic Coca-Cola logo on ancient vases, his practice challenges our perception of value, history, and material culture.

In the red glass vase, Ai Weiwei stages the tension between millenary craftsmanship and contemporary mass production, subtly criticizing the omnipresence of commercial symbols and their almost mythological power in today's society. The work invites reflection on how everyday objects, seemingly trivial, acquire meaning and become witnesses of our era.

Beyond its formal beauty, this work opens a space for reflection on the fragility of tradition in the face of the whirlwind of global capitalism and on how art can serve as a tool to keep memory alive and challenge the power structures that shape our reality.

Ultimately, the Coca-Cola Glass Vase is a cultural hybrid that encapsulates the essence of an era: an object that, with ironic elegance, challenges us to reflect on value, history, and identity in a world where everything seems to be in constant change.