{"id":39204,"date":"2009-05-21T21:36:18","date_gmt":"2009-05-22T04:36:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/?p=39204"},"modified":"2009-05-21T21:36:18","modified_gmt":"2009-05-22T04:36:18","slug":"the-subtle-power-of-zao-wou-ki","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/2009\/05\/the-subtle-power-of-zao-wou-ki\/","title":{"rendered":"The Subtle Power of Zao Wou-Ki"},"content":{"rendered":"

The New York Times profiles<\/strong><\/a> artist Zao Wou-ki (Zhao Wuji \u8d75\u65e0\u6781), in advance of two events in Hong Kong highlighting his work, an auction at Christie’s<\/a> and an exhibit at Alisan Fine Arts<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\n

Even as the bubble in prices for mainland art made in the last 20 years burst along with the global financial markets, Zao\u2019s works have continued to be in high demand among collectors. During last winter\u2019s auction season for Chinese art, a Zao painting sold in Hong Kong for 45.5 million Hong Kong dollars, or $5.89 million, a record for the artist.<\/p>\n

\u201cZao is part of a coterie of Chinese artists that came of aesthetic age in the 1950s, an intriguing period of time that saw a wide range of Chinese artists practicing in the most diverse circumstance imaginable,\u201d said Joan Kee, a University of Michigan art historian who is a specialist on postwar and contemporary Asian painting. \u201cOn the one hand there was Zao, living in Paris and represented by important New York galleries like Samuel Kootz,\u201d she said. \u201cThen you had artists like Lin Fengmian, working under the Communist regime on the eve of the anti-rightist campaign.\u201d<\/p>\n

Zao moved to France a year before Mao Zedong took control of China, and by the 1950s the painter\u2019s career was thriving thanks to a following among European and American collectors. He was acquainted with Paul Klee, whose style influenced Zao\u2019s 1952 work \u201cLes poires vertes\u201d (Green Pears), which will be auctioned at Christie\u2019s on Monday. Pierre Matisse was his dealer at one point.<\/p>\n

\u201cZao was one of the few Chinese artists to reach a level of commercial success that anticipated the present market for contemporary Chinese art,\u201d Dr. Kee said. \u201cHe was very good at framing his paintings in terms that audiences of the time could understand. Recall that this is the 1950s, when Asian philosophy and aesthetics drew substantial interest from artists like Henri Michaux, Mark Tobey, and Yves Klein.\u201d <\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Read more about Zao<\/a> and see images of his art work<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The New York Times profiles artist Zao Wou-ki (Zhao Wuji \u8d75\u65e0\u6781), in advance of two events in Hong Kong highlighting his work, an auction at Christie’s and an exhibit at Alisan Fine Arts: Even as the bubble in prices for mainland art made in the last 20 years burst along with the global financial markets, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[20,35],"tags":[1814,1231,7998],"class_list":["post-39204","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-culture","category-hong-kong","tag-art-market","tag-artists","tag-zao-wou-ki","et-doesnt-have-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Subtle Power of Zao Wou-Ki<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/2009\/05\/the-subtle-power-of-zao-wou-ki\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Subtle Power of Zao Wou-Ki\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The New York Times profiles artist Zao Wou-ki (Zhao Wuji \u8d75\u65e0\u6781), in advance of two events in Hong Kong highlighting his work, an auction at Christie’s and an exhibit at Alisan Fine Arts: Even as the bubble in prices for mainland art made in the last 20 years burst along with the global financial markets, […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"http:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/2009\/05\/the-subtle-power-of-zao-wou-ki\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"China Digital Times (CDT)\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ChinaDigitalTimes\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2009-05-22T04:36:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/CDT-logo.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"186\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"177\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Sophie Beach\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@cdt\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@cdt\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Sophie Beach\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/2009\/05\/the-subtle-power-of-zao-wou-ki\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/2009\/05\/the-subtle-power-of-zao-wou-ki\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Sophie Beach\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/#\/schema\/person\/7f19e31b674d57a7dc20aab8e908c663\"},\"headline\":\"The Subtle Power of Zao Wou-Ki\",\"datePublished\":\"2009-05-22T04:36:18+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2009-05-22T04:36:18+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/2009\/05\/the-subtle-power-of-zao-wou-ki\/\"},\"wordCount\":341,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"art market\",\"artists\",\"Zao Wou-ki\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Culture & the Arts\",\"Hong Kong\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/2009\/05\/the-subtle-power-of-zao-wou-ki\/\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/2009\/05\/the-subtle-power-of-zao-wou-ki\/\",\"name\":\"The Subtle Power of Zao Wou-Ki\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2009-05-22T04:36:18+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2009-05-22T04:36:18+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/2009\/05\/the-subtle-power-of-zao-wou-ki\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"http:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/2009\/05\/the-subtle-power-of-zao-wou-ki\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/2009\/05\/the-subtle-power-of-zao-wou-ki\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Subtle Power of Zao Wou-Ki\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/\",\"name\":\"China Digital Times (CDT)\",\"description\":\"Covering China from Cyberspace\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/#organization\",\"name\":\"China Digital Times\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/CDT-logo.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/CDT-logo.jpg\",\"width\":186,\"height\":177,\"caption\":\"China Digital Times\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ChinaDigitalTimes\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/cdt\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/#\/schema\/person\/7f19e31b674d57a7dc20aab8e908c663\",\"name\":\"Sophie Beach\",\"description\":\"Sophie Beach is CDT's Operations and Communications Manager. From 2003-2021, she served as Executive Editor of CDT English. She lives in Berkeley, California.\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/author\/sophie-beach\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Subtle Power of Zao Wou-Ki","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"http:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/2009\/05\/the-subtle-power-of-zao-wou-ki\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Subtle Power of Zao Wou-Ki","og_description":"The New York Times profiles artist Zao Wou-ki (Zhao Wuji \u8d75\u65e0\u6781), in advance of two events in Hong Kong highlighting his work, an auction at Christie’s and an exhibit at Alisan Fine Arts: Even as the bubble in prices for mainland art made in the last 20 years burst along with the global financial markets, […]","og_url":"http:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/2009\/05\/the-subtle-power-of-zao-wou-ki\/","og_site_name":"China Digital Times (CDT)","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ChinaDigitalTimes","article_published_time":"2009-05-22T04:36:18+00:00","og_image":[{"width":186,"height":177,"url":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/CDT-logo.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Sophie Beach","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@cdt","twitter_site":"@cdt","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Sophie Beach","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"http:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/2009\/05\/the-subtle-power-of-zao-wou-ki\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/2009\/05\/the-subtle-power-of-zao-wou-ki\/"},"author":{"name":"Sophie Beach","@id":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/#\/schema\/person\/7f19e31b674d57a7dc20aab8e908c663"},"headline":"The Subtle Power of Zao Wou-Ki","datePublished":"2009-05-22T04:36:18+00:00","dateModified":"2009-05-22T04:36:18+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"http:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/2009\/05\/the-subtle-power-of-zao-wou-ki\/"},"wordCount":341,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/#organization"},"keywords":["art market","artists","Zao Wou-ki"],"articleSection":["Culture & the Arts","Hong Kong"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/2009\/05\/the-subtle-power-of-zao-wou-ki\/","url":"http:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/2009\/05\/the-subtle-power-of-zao-wou-ki\/","name":"The Subtle Power of Zao Wou-Ki","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/#website"},"datePublished":"2009-05-22T04:36:18+00:00","dateModified":"2009-05-22T04:36:18+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"http:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/2009\/05\/the-subtle-power-of-zao-wou-ki\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["http:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/2009\/05\/the-subtle-power-of-zao-wou-ki\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"http:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/2009\/05\/the-subtle-power-of-zao-wou-ki\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Subtle Power of Zao Wou-Ki"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/#website","url":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/","name":"China Digital Times (CDT)","description":"Covering China from Cyberspace","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/#organization","name":"China Digital Times","url":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/CDT-logo.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/CDT-logo.jpg","width":186,"height":177,"caption":"China Digital Times"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ChinaDigitalTimes","https:\/\/x.com\/cdt"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/#\/schema\/person\/7f19e31b674d57a7dc20aab8e908c663","name":"Sophie Beach","description":"Sophie Beach is CDT's Operations and Communications Manager. From 2003-2021, she served as Executive Editor of CDT English. She lives in Berkeley, California.","sameAs":["http:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net"],"url":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/author\/sophie-beach\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39204","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39204"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39204\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39204"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39204"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39204"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}