ZAO WOU-KI
(1920-2013)

Born in 1920 in Beijing, Zao Wou-Ki attended the National School of Arts, Hangzhou for six years under the supervision of Lin Fengmian and subsequently became a drawing instructor there.
 In 1947, Zao moved to Paris where he would befriend several artists including Alberto Giacometti and Joan Miró.
 Zao’s abstract, gestural style quickly drew acclaim; by the mid-1950s Chinese calligraphy became a recognizable influence in his production. Alongside others associated with the École de Paris, Zao employed highly saturated color and intense lines in his compositions, achieving the apex of his style in the mid ‘60s.
Zao is nowadays universally recognized as a towering figure in post-war abstraction.
His works are in the collections of the Fogg Museum, Boston, the Solomon R Guggenheim Museum, New York and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York