Zao Wouki

Zao Wou-Ki (赵无极) was a Chinese-French abstract painter celebrated for his lyrical fusion of Eastern calligraphic traditions and Western Abstract Expressionism. Born in Beijing in 1920, he studied at the China Academy of Art before relocating to Paris in 1948, where he became a central figure in the École de Paris. His luminous, large-scale canvases—often untitled and dated—command among the highest prices at auction of any Asian artist in history, with works regularly selling for tens of millions at Christie's, Sotheby's, and Poly Auction.