Zao Wou-Ki was born in Beijing in 1920, and his family soon relocated to Shanghai. He came from a distinguished family, tracing their lineage back to the Song dynasty. Zao developed an interest in art early, encouraged by his family, and studied at the Hangzhou School of Fine Arts. In 1948, he moved to Paris, where he connected with many artists, including Pierre Soulages and Jean-Paul Riopelle. Zao’s work evolved towards abstraction, influenced by Western artists like Paul Klee. He became a prominent figure in the post-war art scene, blending Eastern and Western styles. Over the decades, Zao exhibited worldwide, and his works are held in numerous prestigious collections. He passed away in 2013 in Switzerland.
Biography
Zao Wou-Ki was born in Beijing in February 1920. Chinese records state his birthdate as February 13, while his French naturalization documents list it as February 1. Shortly after his birth, his family relocated to Shanghai. Zao belonged to the T’chao family, which traced its lineage back to the Song dynasty. Upon moving to France, he adopted the name Zao Wou-Ki, with Wou-Ki becoming his given name. During his childhood, the family lived in Nantung, a small town north of Shanghai, where his father worked as a banker. Zao completed his primary education and three years of secondary schooling there.
Zao began drawing and painting at the age of ten, encouraged by his family, who held the arts in high regard. His grandfather taught him to write Chinese characters, which was fundamental to his later work in calligraphy. In 1935, at the age of 15, Zao passed the entrance exam for the Hangzhou School of Fine Arts. There, he studied under both Chinese and Western instructors for six years. He soon began experimenting with oil painting, breaking free from traditional academic constraints. In 1938, the school relocated to Chongqing due to the Japanese invasion.
After graduating in 1941, Zao Wou-Ki stayed on at the school as an assistant teacher. His first solo exhibition was held in Chongqing. During this period, he was heavily influenced by Western artists like Cézanne, Matisse, and Picasso, using postcards and reproductions from Paris and American magazines like Life and Harper’s Bazaar as references. In 1946, encouraged by Vadime Elisseeff, the Cultural Attaché of the French Embassy in China, Zao decided to move to Paris. Elisseeff took 20 of Zao’s works to Paris, showcasing them at the Cernuschi Museum’s Exhibition of Contemporary Chinese Painters. In 1947, after a solo exhibition in Shanghai, Zao moved to Paris with his father's blessing.
Zao and his wife Lalan left Shanghai and, after a 36-day sea voyage, reached Marseille before moving on to Paris. There, they settled in a small studio in Montparnasse, with Alberto Giacometti as a neighbor. Zao studied French at the Alliance Française and attended the Académie de la Grande Chaumière. He later remarked that he discovered his true personality in Paris. His cosmopolitan circle included American artists like Sam Francis, Norman Bluhm, and Joan Mitchell, as well as European artists like Jean-Paul Riopelle and Pierre Soulages.
In 1950, Zao’s first collector's book, "Lecture par Henri Michaux de huit lithographies de Zao Wou-Ki," was published. This marked the beginning of a lifelong friendship with Michaux. In 1951, gallerist Pierre Loeb visited Zao’s studio and organized his first exhibition at Galerie Pierre in June, starting a collaboration that lasted until 1957. During a trip to Switzerland, Zao was introduced to the work of Paul Klee, which inspired him to move towards abstraction. By 1953, Zao had fully embraced an abstract style. In 1954, a retrospective of his prints was held at the Museum of Fine Arts in Cincinnati. He met composer Edgar Varèse in 1954, and they became close friends. In 1955, Zao’s last exhibition at Galerie Pierre was followed by a collaboration with Galerie de France.
In 1961, Zao held his first exhibition at the Tokyo Gallery in Japan. In 1962, he created ten lithographs to illustrate André Malraux’s "La Tentation de l’Occident." With Malraux’s support, Zao was granted French nationality in 1964. His sixth and final solo exhibition at the Kootz Gallery in New York took place in 1965. In 1967, he contributed to the French section of the World Fair in Montreal. Exhibitions in Los Angeles and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art followed in 1968. By the end of the 1960s, Zao's retrospectives had been held at prominent museums in Montreal and Quebec.
In the early 1970s, Zao led Oskar Kokoschka’s summer seminar in Salzburg. He rediscovered Chinese ink techniques in 1971, encouraged by Henri Michaux. His wife, May, died in 1972, prompting Zao to visit his family in China for the first time since 1948. After a period of mourning, he resumed painting large-scale works, which were exhibited in 1975 at the Galerie de France. He continued to travel and exhibit extensively, with significant shows in Japan, Barcelona, and Tokyo.
Zao was appointed as a teacher of mural painting at the École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs in 1980. In 1981-1982, his production was featured in an extensive exhibition at the Galeries Nationales du Grand Palais in Paris, which then traveled to several museums in Asia. By 1984, his growing commitments led him to resign from teaching. He was made an Officier de l’Ordre de la Légion d’Honneur by the French Minister of Culture, Jack Lang. In 1985, Zao and his wife Françoise were invited to teach at the Hangzhou School of Fine Arts. His last exhibition at the Galerie de France took place in 1986.
Throughout the 1990s, Zao Wou-Ki's art was celebrated with exhibitions at the Fondation Vasarely, the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, and the Taipei Fine Arts Museum. He was promoted to Commandeur de l’Ordre de la Légion d’honneur in 1993 and awarded the Praemium Imperiale for painting in Japan in 1994. Retrospectives of his work were held in Mexico and Taiwan.
Zao accompanied French President Jacques Chirac on official trips to China in 2000. He was elected to the French Academy of Fine Arts in 2002. Major exhibitions of his production continued, including a significant retrospective at the Galerie Nationale du Jeu de Paume in 2003. In 2006, President Jacques Chirac honored Zao by making him a Grand Officier de l’Ordre de la Légion d’honneur. Zao's last major public works included stained-glass windows for the Prieuré de Saint-Cosme and ceramic panels for the Oriente underground station in Lisbon.
Zao Wou-Ki made his last watercolors in 2010. He settled in Dully, Switzerland with his wife Françoise in 2011. In 2012, an exhibition of his recent watercolors was held at the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rouen. Zao passed away on April 9, 2013, in Nyon, Switzerland. His funeral took place at the Montparnasse Cemetery in Paris. Posthumously, his work continues to be celebrated, with retrospectives and dedicated rooms in museums worldwide. His production is now held in more than 150 collections in over 20 countries, reflecting his enduring influence and legacy in the art world.
Personal Life
Zao and his wife Lalan (Xie Jinglan), both artists, pursued their individual careers, while their son stayed in China with Zao's parents. They divorced in the mid-1950s. In 1957, Zao visited the United States to see his younger brother Chao Wu-Wai in Montclair, New Jersey, near New York City's art scene. He sought to learn more about "pop art" during his stay and painted seven canvases at his brother's house. Artworks from 1957 are relatively rare, and the largest canvas from this period was later donated to the Detroit Institute of Arts by his brother.
After spending six weeks in the U.S., Zao traveled to Tokyo and then to Hong Kong, where he met his second wife, Chan May-Kan (May Zao), a film actress with two children from a previous marriage. With Zao's influence, she became a successful sculptor. Tragically, she committed suicide in 1972 at the age of 41 due to mental illness. That same year, Zao visited his family in China, whom he had not seen since 1948.
In 1997, Zao married Françoise Marquet, who now serves as the president of the Zao Wou-Ki Foundation.
Career Highlights
Zao Wou-Ki's artistic mastery is recognized globally, with his abstraction often titled by their completion date. His significant pieces include triptychs and diptychs, displaying vibrant colors and structured light. Influenced by Henri Michaux, Zao revisited Chinese ink techniques, integrating them with modern abstract forms. His pieces have been showcased at prestigious venues like the Venice Biennale and MoMA in New York. Notable pieces like "Juin-Octobre 1985" have fetched record prices at auctions, emphasizing his lasting popularity. Despite health issues in later years, Zao's influence endures, with his works held in over 150 collections worldwide.
Exhibitions
In 2018, the Musée d'Art Moderne de Paris hosted an exhibition featuring around 40 of Zao Wou-Ki's works.
From September 2023 to February 2024, the China Academy of Art in Hangzhou showcased nearly 200 pieces by their alumnus and former teacher, Zao Wou-Ki. This exhibition included 129 of his oil paintings and dedicated an entire floor to documenting his life, from his birth in China to his years in Paris. This event was part of a broader cultural program connected to the 2022 Asian Games and the China–France Year of Culture and Tourism in 2024. It was supported by China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Zhejiang government, and the French and Swiss embassies in China.
Art Auctions
Between 2009 and 2014, the value of Zao's work tripled, resulting in fewer available paintings and driving prices even higher.
In 2017, Zao Wou-Ki's "29.01.64" (1964) sold for HK$202.6 million (US$26 million) at Christie's in Hong Kong, setting a new auction record for the artist and the highest price for an oil painting by any Asian artist. The previous record was held by "29.09.64," which sold for HK$153 million (US$19.6 million) at Christie's Hong Kong in May 2017.
In 2018, "Juin-Octobre 1985," the largest painting Zao Wou-Ki ever created, sold for HK$510 million after premium, setting the record for the most valuable painting sold at Hong Kong auctions and the auction record for an oil painting by an Asian artist.
Style, Movement, and Subjects
Zao's creations, influenced by Paul Klee, lean towards abstraction. He titles them based on their completion date, with colors forming masses that seem to create a new world, much like a Big Bang, structured by light. He often worked in triptych and diptych formats. Although his style bore similarities to the Abstract Expressionists he encountered in New York, he was also influenced by Impressionism. Zao Wou-Ki acknowledged the impact of Matisse, Picasso, and Cézanne on his work.
His interactions with Henri Michaux led him to revisit his traditional Chinese ink techniques. As a member of the Académie des beaux-arts, Zao was regarded as one of the most successful Chinese painters of his era.
In 1982, he was commissioned to create a painting for the Fragrant Hills Hotel in Beijing, designed by I. M. Pei. Pei, who had studied in Europe in the early 1950s, met Zao at Galerie Claude Bernard, which represented Zao. In 1983, Zao returned to his alma mater, the China Academy of Art in Hangzhou, to give lectures.
Former French President Jacques Chirac received a painting by Zao Wou-Ki from his ministers during their final meeting.
In his later years, Zao stopped creating new paintings due to health issues.
Notable Works
Among Zao Wou-Ki's renowned pieces are "Juin-Octobre 1985," a monumental triptych, and "Hommage à Claude Monet," showcasing his blend of light and color. Other significant pieces include "10.01.68" and "24.01.61," which highlight his mastery in creating atmospheric depth and emotion. His abstract compositions, often without traditional titles, are marked by their creation dates, reflecting their temporal significance.
SANS TITRE (1978) Printmaking by Wou-Ki Zao
Analysis of the Artwork
Analysis and Description of "Sans Titre" (1978) by Zao Wou-Ki
"Sans Titre" (1978) is an etching by Chinese-French artist Zao Wou-Ki. This piece marks his return to Chinese ink painting techniques, showcasing a gradient of blue from dark at the top to light at the bottom, symbolizing depth and translucence. The central chaotic brown area, mixed with various colors, contrasts the orderly blue, reflecting the balance between chaos and order in nature. The piece is signed and numbered by Zao himself and is in perfect condition. It is part of the permanent collection at the Musée d'Art Moderne de Paris.
This piece exemplifies Zao's fusion of Eastern and Western art traditions, combining Chinese calligraphy with Western abstract forms.
Exhibitions
In 2018, the Musée d'Art Moderne de Paris hosted an exhibition featuring around 40 works by Zao Wou-Ki. From September 2023 to February 2024, the China Academy of Art in Hangzhou presented an exhibition of nearly 200 pieces by their alumnus and former teacher, Zao Wou-Ki. This exhibition included 129 of his oil paintings. One floor was dedicated to showcasing his entire life, from his birth in China to his years in Paris. The exhibition was part of a broader cultural program associated with the 2022 Asian Games and the China–France Year of Culture and Tourism in 2024. It was sponsored by China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Zhejiang government, with support from the French and Swiss embassies in China.
Art Auctions
Between 2009 and 2014, the value of Zao's production tripled, leading to a scarcity of his paintings and driving prices even higher.
In 2017, Zao Wou-Ki's "29.01.64" (1964) was sold for HK$202.6 million (US$26 million) at Christie's in Hong Kong, setting a new auction record for the artist and the world record for an oil painting by any Asian artist. The previous record for the artist was held by "29.09.64," another large painting that sold for HK$153 million (US$19.6 million) at Christie's Hong Kong in May 2017.
In 2018, "Juin-Octobre 1985," the largest painting Zao Wou-Ki ever created, was sold for HK$510 million after premium, setting the record for the most valuable painting sold at Hong Kong auctions, as well as the auction record for an oil painting by an Asian artist.
Influence on Other Artists
Zao Wou-Ki's unique blend of Eastern and Western traditions has inspired many contemporary artists. His integration of Chinese calligraphy with Western abstract art has significantly influenced artists who seek to bridge cultural divides in their production. This synthesis allows for a rich dialogue between two distinct artistic traditions, encouraging a fusion that is both innovative and deeply rooted in historical practices. Zao’s ability to convey the essence of nature and the cosmos through abstract forms has also been a source of inspiration for artists exploring similar themes. His production, which balances vibrant color and dynamic composition, serves as a model for those looking to merge cultural aesthetics and create a universal artistic language.
Honors
- Grand Officer of the Legion of Honor
- Commander of the National Order of Merit
- Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters
Zao Wou-Ki's legacy is marked by his vibrant, abstract depictions of the natural world and his seamless fusion of Eastern and Western artistic traditions. His works continue to inspire and influence contemporary artists, and his exhibitions and auction records underscore his lasting impact on the art world. By blending his cultural heritage with his experiences in France, Zao Wou-Ki created a universal appeal that transcends national boundaries, ensuring his place as a master of modern art.
Selena Mattei
| ArtMajeur Magazine
