About the artwork
Produced in 1969, this lithograph marks a period of great pictorial intensity for Zao Wou-Ki. The work is structured around a vast, incandescent orange field, criss-crossed by dark flashes and nervous lines that seem to spring from the center of the composition. The chromatic tension between vibrant orange, deep blacks and brown tones creates a space in motion, almost telluric. Broad, sweeping gestures converse with more incisive, writing-like strokes. This dynamic evokes both an inner landscape and the cosmic energy characteristic of the artist's abstract language of the late 1960s. Printed on Rives paper, this lithograph retains a great richness of material and remarkable tonal depth, finely translating the gestural power characteristic of Zao Wou-Ki.
Expert opinion
The late 1960s marked a key moment in Zao Wou-Ki's career. His abstraction reached a formal maturity in which the balance between gestural spontaneity and spatial construction was fully mastered. Lithographs from this period are particularly sought-after, as they precisely convey the intensity of his painted work, while remaining produced in limited editions. The 95-copy print run is reasonable for the time, and the pencil signature and handwritten justification reinforce the work's editorial quality. Prints from the 1960s are enjoying a sustained interest on the market, particularly those with high chromatic density and assertive gestural energy, as seen here. This work falls within a coherent and identifiable stylistic phase, which is an asset for collectors looking for pieces representative of the artist's most dynamic period.
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
Signed
Framed
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