Zao Wou-Ki

We authenticate, certify, issue certificates of authenticity (COA), appraise the value and broker the sale of paintings, prints, drawings, objects and sculptures by ZAO Wou-Ki.

Chinese

Born in 1920 in Beijing, China.

Died in 2013 in Nyon, Switzerland, aged 93.

He spent most of his life in France. He also lived in China and Switzerland.

Typical subject matter:

Some of his works are still lifes or stylised landscapes, but the majority are lyrical abstractions.

Typical style:

He is associated with both ancestral Chinese techniques and lyrical abstraction (from the 1950s onwards), which made him a household name. His most valued paintings are abstract or nearly so.

His tonal palettes are either bright or dull, and the colours are graded and mixed together. The material is worked: it shows thicknesses, crusts, visible brushstrokes or the use of knives.

Typical material and media:

He mostly worked in oil on canvas. He has also produced numerous prints and a few drawings, as well as sculptures and objects, including ceramic and porcelain plates. His prints can be lithographs, aquatints, etchings, or engravings on paper. For his drawings, he used watercolour and ink on paper.

If you own a painting, print, drawing, object, or sculpture by or attributed to Zao Wou-Ki, we would like to learn about it. Please send us photos or contact us at [email protected]. You will generally receive a response within 24 hours.