Born in 1956, in Harbin, Heilongjiang Province in 1956, Wang spent his formative years growing up under the Cultural Revolution, an event which has had a profound influence on his art. Denied an education until the Cultural Revolution had ended in 1976, he entered the Zhejiang Academy of Art in 1977, and he graduated from there in 1984. After graduating Wang was immensely influenced by the 'Pop Art' of urbane American Culture. Taking the 'flat style' and monochromatic colors of this style as a starting point, Wang began to produce his first works, studies of ordinary people in everyday activities.

As China opened its doors to the world in 1977 after 10 years of the Cultural Revolution, the contemporary art scene exploded. As ideas and concepts flowed in from abroad, artists who had been starved of originality and freedom of expression, as they were forced to produce Propaganda art for the Cultural Revolution, eagerly embraced avant-garde Western artistic styles as they sought ways to express their individuality, their social concerns, their inner world and their relationship to society.

In 1989, it seemed the coming of age for Contemporary art had arrived, when the first exhibition of avant-garde works was allowed at the National Museum in Beijing. It was a major moment in the lives of all living artists, the validation of their work as art. But disaster was to strike. At the exhibition opening an installation artist fired live shots from a gun. The exhibition was immediately closed down. The authorities now became openly hostile to contemporary artists warning them that criticism would not be tolerated, and forcing them underground. The artistic community was devastated. They spent the next few months trying to figure out what direction to take. In June 1989, and even worse blow was to fall with Tiananmen Square. After the crackdown, the whole of society became quiet. The energy, passion and joie de vivre of the previous decade ended abruptly. If you were to survive, you needed to be quiet.

The art world became very silent for the next two years. A realization had descended that openly exploring contemporary society, individual relationships with it, or criticizing corrupt authorities or the communist system would unleash a fierce backlash from those in power. Artists spent the 2 years in introspection, reflection, and contemplation of how to express their inner most concerns with drawing down the wrath of the authorities. Slowly art began to reappear in the early 1990s. Gone was the open expression of anguish, anger, criticism, and direct commentary on a corrupt system. Instead, in a society that doesn't like open criticism, a Chinese answer was found. Instead open anger and anguish were replaced by irony and humor. 'Political Pop', which took the road of irony and 'Cynical Realism', which took the path of humor were born.

At this time, Wang began to produce his famous "Great Criticism Series", which grew out of his flat pop art earlier works. Wang borrowed iconic images from the socialist art posters of the Cultural Revolution which extolled the heroic nature and actions of the idealized figures of Maoism, soldiers, laborers and peasants. He painted them against a monochromatic background usually red with all its communist overtones but even more so its associations with blood. Wang then blazoned a Western brand name across the canvas, thus juxtaposing iconic symbols of two very different systems, raising very profound questions. The authorities could hardly object to its most revered images and artistic style being adopted by a contemporary artist notwithstanding its ironic overtones.

After the Great Criticism series Wang wanted to return to what he calls "the original state of condition." "Conceptually speaking, this process of returning to the original expression has meant for me a return to the original ideological worldview that guided my earliest educational experience, and, by extension, to the earliest views on the questions of form that were imparted to me. In fact, it could be said that all the work I am now doing is related to this idea of going back to the original, and reducing things to their essentials. In the past, I never thought this way, but now I am following the trajectory of my own growth of development, I realize that is very important for an artist" [Wang Guangyi: The Legacy of Heroism, Hanart TZ Gallery, Hong Kong, 2004, p. 5]. The triptych Coca-Cola is a work from this new period.

From 2004/2005, this large-scale triptych is a mature expression of Wang's major on-going concerns, the power of symbols and the hegemony they wield. Stripped down to bare essentials "Coca Cola" is a dramatic and tension filled exploration of the true meaning of symbols.

The dark black background highlights the starkly drawn, hard-lined figures of revolutionary heroes from the propaganda posters. The work is dominated by a young revolutionary female soldier bent on one knee, rifle aiming. The pose is sinister and menacing. Are we witnessing an execution as she points her gun at one of the groups of people? The two groups of people on either side seem to be lost in their respective activities unaware of the violence that seems about to break forth. The depiction of the figures in X-ray form adds to the sinister and tension laden scene.

The Coca Cola logo is likewise depicted in monochromatic washed out color. Its grayish-blue hue is subdued and heavy. It ironically dominates the entire work as it stands centre stage over the unfolding scene below. As a symbol of Western Consumerism it seems to stand in stark contrast to the sinister scene being enacted below it.

"Coca Cola" has lost the warm playfulness of Wang's earlier works in the "Great Criticism" series. In this work Wang seems to be much more focused on examining the true meaning and nature of power. The visual seductiveness of the iconic revolutionary figures and the ubiquitous Western logos should not hide from us the true nature of power and its ability to corrupt and destroy.