Zao Wu-Ki (1920–2013)

"Everyone is bound by a tradition. I am bound by two." — Zao Wou-Ki

Zao Wou-Ki was a Chinese-French master who bridged the gap between Eastern and Western artistic traditions. Born in Beijing and educated in Hangzhou, Zao moved to Paris in 1948, where he became a leading figure in the Lyrical Abstraction movement and a pillar of the School of Paris.

Throughout his seventy-year career, his work evolved from early figurative paintings—heavily influenced by artists such as Cézanne, Matisse, and Picasso—into a distinctive, lyrical style of abstraction. He is well-known for his "Hurricane Period" (roughly 1959–1972), during which he created large-scale, gestural canvases that blended Chinese calligraphic brushwork with the intensity of Western abstraction.

Zao Wou-Ki’s contributions were widely recognized; he was the first artist of Chinese descent elected to the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris and received numerous international honors, including the Praemium Imperiale. His work is held in major museum collections worldwide, including the Tate, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum.