ZAO WOU-KI

ZAO WOU-KI, 1920-2013

Born in Beijing in the People’s Republic of China, Zao Wou-ki is known for his large-format paintings and for his body of printed works. From the 1950’s onwards, he is associated with the École de Paris and with the Abstraction Lyrique movement.

Wou-ki’s influences are strongly tied to his classical education in Chinese painting and calligraphy which he studied at the School of Fine Arts in Hangzhou, but he would also be influenced by European artists such as Klee, Cézanne and Matisse.

Among the many artists Wou-ki befriended in Paris, Pierre Soulages became a particularly close acquaintance, and for many decades, they frequently battled on the badminton court.

However, Wou-ki was seldom promoted in China until 1983, as his supposed deviation from his origins was frowned upon by his own country. This in any case did not prevent his works from being exhibited all over Europe and the Americas for the rest of his career.