Description
Estimate：£60,000-£80,000
Image Size: 150 cm x 110 cm (59 x 43 1/4 inches) All measurements are approximate.
Signed (lower right)
This painting comes with a COA issued by Artist Museums.
Zao Wou-Ki was a Chinese-French artist known for his non-representational paintings that blended Eastern and Western modes of art making. “Everybody is bound by a tradition. I am bound by two,” the artist once reflected. Born on February 1, 1920 in Peking, China, he studied at the Hangzhou Fine Arts School for six years were he was influenced by the work of traditional Chinese and Japanese art as well as Western painters like Paul Klee and Franz Kline. In 1947, the artist moved to Paris where he became the neighbor of Alberto Giacometti and friends with Sam Francis, Jean-Paul Riopelle, and Pierre Soulages. During the following decades, Zao’s work became very popular with Chinese collectors and by the 2000s his paintings were selling in the millions. The artist died on April 9, 2013 in Nyon, Switzerland at the age of 93. In 2016, he was the subject of his first retrospective held in the United States titled “No Limits Zao Wou-Ki” at the Asia Society in New York. Today, the artist’s works are in the collections of the Tate Gallery in London, The Museum of Modern Art in New York, and the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., among others.
This powerful oil painting by Zao Wou-Ki showcases the artist’s mastery of abstract expressionism. The vivid red background dominates the composition, while bursts of yellow and black seem to emerge from within, creating a dynamic interplay of light and dark. The energetic brushstrokes and fluid forms suggest movement and intensity, invoking a sense of both chaos and beauty. Zao’s abstract work often blends Eastern and Western artistic traditions, and this piece is no exception, with its organic shapes that recall both calligraphy and landscape painting. The composition’s raw energy and emotive color palette speak to the artist’s exploration of the spiritual and the expressive, capturing a sense of inner turmoil and transcendence.
