“Liquid/Solid Series: Blue Cells No. 2” was made during Carl’s time working in Shanghai in 1980. As an American of Chinese descent, he was able to live and work without a government minder in the years immediately following the end of Cultural Revolution. The piece was made using ink and an eyedropper: he would drip ink over a layer of glue and repeat this process over time to achieve the build-up of materials. The frame was inspired in part by the architecture of the colonial-era hotels he saw in China.