In 1985, Wang Huaiqing had a painting trip to Shaoxing, Zhejiang. In Yangze River villages, white walls, black roof tiles and ancient buildings with wood framework reveal the unique Chinese cultural atmosphere. Wang was fascinated with all of these sceneries. As we know, Shaoxing is meaningful to Wu Guanzhong. His famous series "Lu Xun's Old Home" made in late 1980s were right sketched from Shaoxing. A renowned art critic Jia Fangzhou ever mentioned that Wang's strict adherence to "structure' and 'block and white" is correlated to his mentor Wu Guanzhong1. In 1970, Wang was sent to countryside for rehabilitation through labor during the Cultural Revolution period. He studied painting with Wu then.

Wu Guanzhong regarded highly for his disciple's art and pointed out the course of Wang's creation as following: "Firstly, Wang Huaiqing gazed Shaoxing's dwelling houses and the frameworks of wooden beams. In strong contrast of white walls, the structures interlace, slant and reveal power and strength. Overall structures unify into a cosmos. Hence, he loved furniture of Ming style - tables, chairs, benches2...." Since mid 1989s, Wang started researching Jiangnan dwelling houses' abstract construction. After 1990, he developed and recreated the form of Ming's furniture. Wang employs Western techniques and materials; his works could be seen as a "modern structure3" (Jia Fengzhou's saying). The lot "Dwelling Houses" by Wang Huaiqing is of his 1980s collections. The painting inherits from a tradition of Western abstract expressionism of Soulages and Kline. It also combined an artistic concept from the Eastern art and qualified for a fine and very rare work.

1 Odile Chen ed., Jia Fangzhou, 'A World of Contrasts - on Wang Huaiqing's Modern Structure', Wang Huaiqing, Lin & Keng Gallery, Taipei, 1999, p. 4

2 Wu Guanzhong, 'Deconstruction & Construction: Wang Huaiqing's Oil Painting' Wu Guanzhong's Art Essays, website of A Global Network for Chinese Professionals (http://www.networkchinese.com/art/literature/wugz/oilpaintg.html)

3 See note 1, pp. 4-5