Skip to Content
  1. All Artworks
  2. All Artworks
  3. À La Gloire de l’image et art poétique
-
À La Gloire de l’image et art poétique

Zao Wou-Ki

À La Gloire de l’image et art poétique

1976

Color lithograph

49 × 71 × 1 cm

Ed. /300 — With the artist’s printed signature and dated 1976. Text in French by Roger Caillois. PAPER VELIN

Location: PARIS, France

https://www.artransfer.com/web/image/product.template/32466/image_1920?unique=54efff7

1,350 € 1350.0 EUR 1,350 €

  • Color

This combination does not exist.

ARTRANSFER Digital Passport
Arianee token ID 776315661
Share by Email

Documents

  • Invoice or proof of purchase
  • Certificate of authenticity
  • Other documents

About the artwork

This 1976 color lithograph features an abstract composition characterized by an interplay of colors and brushstrokes. Dominant hues of deep red, fuchsia, and black contrast with lighter areas of yellow, cream, and pale green, creating a sense of depth and horizontal movement. The central area features a cluster of marks, suggesting organic forms or an explosion of energy, while broader strokes define the upper and lower registers. The technique employed in this work highlights the artist’s engagement with printmaking as a medium for abstract expression. The layering of colors and textures, achieved through the lithographic process, contributes to the composition’s atmospheric quality. The visible fold in the paper at the center suggests that it may have been originally published as a double-page spread or as part of a larger publication.

Expert opinion

Zao Wou-Ki’s place in 20th-century art history is notable for his synthesis of Eastern and Western artistic traditions. His abstract works, particularly those from the 1960s and 1970s, are recognized for their expressive power and color palettes. The market for his prints is well-established, offering accessible entry points for collectors interested in his work.

About the artist

Born in 1920 in Beijing (China) and died in 2013, Zao Wou-Ki learned from an early age to draw the characters of the Chinese alphabet, the basis of calligraphy. At the age of 15, he entered the Fine Arts School in Hangzhou (China). After becoming a teacher, he held his first solo exhibition, marked by the French influences of Cézanne, Matisse and Picasso, in 1941. In the late '40s, the cultural attaché of the French Embassy in China urged him to move to Paris, where he completed his art studies. Becoming friends with Pierre Soulages, Hans Hartung, Sam Francis and Joan Mitchell, the Chinese artist surrounded himself with the greatest artists of his time. His discovery of lithography and abstraction in the 1950s marked a turning point in his career, as he "aimed for a new, imaginary and indecipherable form of writing". Today considered one of the greatest artists of the 20th century, Zao Wou-Ki is exhibited in the greatest museums (Musée d'Art Moderne, Paris; Tate Museum, London; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York...) and, following his death, has his own room at the Bridgestone Museum of Art (Japan). Today, he achieves record sales at the most prestigious auction houses ($65 million, Sotheby's Hong Kong, 2018).

Additional info

3x

OTHER ARTWORKS YOU MAY LIKE