Biography of Zao Wou-Ki

Zao Wou-Ki (born, according to Chinese documents, on 13 February 1920 in Beijing; died 9 April 2013 in Nyon) was a Chinese-French painter, draughtsman, lithographer and printmaker. His work brought together European modernism, Chinese traditions of writing, ink, colour and an increasingly abstract visual language.

Background and training

Zao Wou-Ki was born in Beijing; a few months later his family moved to Shanghai. He grew up in Nantong and learned calligraphy early. In 1935 he passed the entrance examination for the École des beaux-arts de Hangzhou. There he studied with Chinese and Western-trained teachers, turned early toward oil painting and became an assistant at the school after graduating.

Paris

On 26 February 1948, Zao Wou-Ki left Shanghai with his first wife, Lalan. After arriving in France he went to Paris, visited the Louvre, learned French and worked at the Académie de la Grande-Chaumière. In Montparnasse he took a studio near Alberto Giacometti. In France, T'chao Wou-Ki became Zao Wou-Ki.

Writing, colour and abstraction

In Paris, Zao Wou-Ki encountered artists and writers such as Henri Michaux, Jean-Paul Riopelle, Hans Hartung, Pierre Soulages and Joan Mitchell. A journey to Switzerland brought him into contact with the work of Paul Klee. From 1953 onward, still lifes and recognizable motifs gradually dissolved; Zao described an imaginary, undecipherable writing. From that shift came a painting of colour, space, movement and signs.

Exhibitions and recognition

Zao Wou-Ki had his first solo exhibition in Paris in 1949. Galleries and retrospectives followed in Paris, New York, Tokyo, Cincinnati, Essen, Montréal, Mexico City, Taipei, Hong Kong and Shanghai. In 1964 he became a French citizen. In 1994 he received the Praemium Imperiale for painting. In 2002 he was elected to the Académie des beaux-arts and was formally received on 26 November 2003.

Later years

In 2008, Zao Wou-Ki stopped working with oil paint; in 2010 he painted his final watercolours. In 2011 he moved with his wife Françoise Marquet-Zao to Dully in Switzerland. He died on 9 April 2013 at the hospital in Nyon. The Zao Wou-Ki Foundation preserves the archives, supports the catalogue raisonné and handles questions of authenticity and rights connected with his work.