Auction 158

Online Catalogue with all Lots / Auction 158
Modern and Contemporary Art

Saturday, 13 December 2025 at 11:00 am

Lot 172 Zao Wou-Ki. o.T. 1963. Radierung und …

o.T. 1963. Radierung und Aquatinta auf Velin. 32,5 x 59,5 cm (51 x 72 cm). Signiert und bezeichnet "Épreuve d'artiste". - Blatt altersbedingt gebräunt und mit punktuellen blassen Flecken. Verso mit leichtem Farbdurchschlag, vereinzelt blass braunfleckig sowie mit Resten früherer Montierung. Insgesamt gut mit ausgezeichnetem, gratigen Druck, die Farbe frisch.

Informel – Moestrup 149. - Exemplar "Épreuve d'artiste" außerhalb der Auflage von 125 Exemplaren. - Ausgehend von der vorliegenden Arbeit erschließt sich ein zentraler Aspekt im Ouevre von Zao Wou-Ki: die Verbindung fernöstlicher Formtradition mit westlicher abstrakter Malerei. Der 1920 in Peking geborene und seit 1948 in Paris lebende Künstler entwickelte eine eigenständige visuelle Sprache, die zwischen Schriftzeichen, Landschaft und gestischer Abstraktion changiert. In seinen grafischen Arbeiten der 1960er Jahre überträgt er die Atmosphäre und Dynamik seiner Malerei in ein konzentriertes, drucktechnisch raffiniertes Format. In fein austarierten Tonwerten und gestischer Linienführung entfaltet sich ein abstrakter Bildraum, der Tiefe und Bewegung gleichermaßen vermittelt. Die Komposition wirkt offen, poetisch und zugleich hochpräzise in ihrer technischen Umsetzung. Die hier vorgestellte Arbeit steht somit exemplarisch für Zao Wou-Kis Streben nach einem universellen Ausdruck jenseits kultureller Grenzen, das von Poesie, Freiheit und tiefer formaler Intelligenz getragen wird.

Informel – Etching and aquatint on wove paper. Signed and numbered. - Sheet browned due to age and with pale stains in places. Verso with slight colour bleeding, occasional brown stains and remnants of previous mounting. Overall still good with excellent, burr-like impression, the colour fresh. - Based on this work, a central aspect of Zao Wou-Ki's oeuvre becomes apparent: the connection between Far Eastern formal tradition and Western abstract painting. Born in Beijing in 1920 and living in Paris since 1948, the artist developed an independent visual language that oscillates between characters, landscape and gestural abstraction. In his graphic works of the 1960s, he transfers the atmosphere and dynamism of his painting into a concentrated, technically sophisticated format. Finely balanced tones and gestural lines unfold an abstract pictorial space that conveys both depth and movement. The composition appears open and poetic, yet highly precise in its technical execution. The work presented here is thus exemplary of Zao Wou-Ki's quest for a universal expression beyond cultural boundaries, one that is carried by poetry, freedom, and profound formal intelligence.

Startprice: 2000 €
Estimate: 2500 €

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This piece is subject to differential taxation. There is a 29,5% buyer's premium on the hammer price. The value added tax is included but not displayable according to §25a UstG.

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On the sales proceeds of all original works of fine art and photography, whose authors have not yet died 70 years before the end of the sale, an additional 2% (subject to change) of the hammer prices from 400€ will be charged pro rata for the VG Bild-Kunst, which represents the copyrights of visual artists according to § 26 UrhG.

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Department Modern and Contemporary Art
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Auction 158