Zao Wou-Ki (1921-2013) was born in Beijing and trained at the Hangzhou art academy before moving to Paris in 1948, where he became one of the leading figures of postwar lyrical abstraction. He took French citizenship in 1964. His work joins the Chinese ink tradition of landscape, space and breath to the colour and gesture of the School of Paris. Zao Wou-Ki prints carry that fusion into luminous, atmospheric compositions where forms seem to emerge from and dissolve into the paper.
Zao began making prints soon after arriving in France, and printmaking ran alongside his painting for the rest of his career. His early lithographs show the influence of Paul Klee, with small, calligraphic, almost pictographic forms. From the late 1950s his work opened into abstraction, drawing on ancient Chinese inscriptions and later on expansive, light-filled landscapes. His later prints show a mastery of colour, space and depth that rivals his large oil paintings.
Lithography: soft, fluid washes and layered colour that capture the feel of ink and oil
Etching and aquatint: atmospheric tonal fields, depth and subtle gradations
Combined processes: several colours or plates built up in a single image
His prints are often titled by date rather than by name, a convention he used in his paintings, so a title like “04.06.85” refers to a creation date. This is a helpful detail for collectors and for catalogue research.
Collaborations and Workshops
Zao worked with leading Paris printers and publishers, and he collaborated with writers and poets, notably Henri Michaux and André Malraux, producing illustrated books and portfolios alongside his stand-alone editions. The publisher, printer and workshop are central to authenticity and value, so record them for every print you list.
The Painter Who Never Stopped Carving Light: Zao Wou-ki and the Secret Life of His Prints
