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B etween the 1970s and 1990s, Zao Wou-Ki created a total of thirteen sets of fine-sized triptychs suitable for private collection. For decades, this superb triptych series has rarely appeared on the international auction scene, and 16.01.80 is the largest work in the series.
In this painting, Zao gently rendered the canvas with the dominant colour of ocean blue, showcasing his signature colour philosophy of the 1980s. Formerly belonged to French abstract artist Olivier Debré, the painting was exhibited at the artist’s major retrospective in Paris at the Galerie Nationale du Jeu de Paume in 2003.
Lot 6004 - Details
Zao Wou-Ki
1920 - 2013
16.01.80
signed in Chinese and Pinyin; signed in Pinyin, titled and dated 16.1.80 on the reverse
oil on canvas (triptych)
work size: 46 by 105 cm; 18 ⅛ by 41 ⅜ in.
framed size: 53 by 112 cm; 20 ⅞ by 44 ⅛ in.
This work will be included in the forthcoming Catalogue Raisonné currently being prepared by Françoise Marquet and Yann Hendgen (Information provided by Fondation Zao Wou-Ki)
PROVENANCE
Collection of Olivier Debré (acquired directly from the artist)
Thence by descent to the former owners
Christie's, Paris, 7 June 2017, Lot 17
Acquired directly from the above by the present important private Asian collector
EXHIBITED
Paris, Galerie nationale du Jeu de Paume, Zao Wou-Ki, 14 October - 7 December 2003
LITERATURE
Jean Leymarie, ed., Zao Wou-Ki, Éditions Cercle d'Art, Barcelona/Paris, 1986, plate 530, p. 350
Yves Bonnefoy & Gerard de Cortanze, ed., Zao Wou-Ki, editions La Difference/Enrico Navarra, Paris, 1998, p. 203
Zao Wou-Ki, Galerie nationale du Jeu de Paume, Paris, 2003, p. 124-125
José Frèches, ed., Zao Wou-Ki: Works, Writings, Interviews, Ediciones Poligrafa, Barcelona / D.A.P., New York, 2007, p.22
