Zao Wou-Ki

1920-2013 · Chinese-French · Lyrical Abstraction, School of Paris

Auction record: $65M

Juin-Octobre 1985, 1985 · Sotheby's, Hong Kong · Sep 30, 2018

Source: sothebys.com

Invest with Unicorn Art Club

Biography

Zao Wou-Ki was born in Beijing in 1920, trained at the Hangzhou academy and moved to Paris in 1948, where he joined the circle of postwar abstraction and later took French citizenship. He fused the space and calligraphic energy of Chinese landscape painting with the gestural language of Western lyrical abstraction, producing large oils titled only by their completion dates. For the market he is the anchor of the Hong Kong modern evening sales: his triptych Juin-Octobre 1985 made about US$65 million at Sotheby's in 2018, still the highest price for any painting sold in Hong Kong at that time, and his works appear in almost every major Asian sale season, with deep demand from Greater China collectors.

Recent auction results

Ville chinoise (1955)Sotheby's, Hong Kong$2.61MMar 30, 2026heni.com
Nuage (1956)Sotheby's, Hong Kong$5.18MMar 29, 2026sothebys.com
Terre rouge, 16.01.2005Sotheby's, Hong Kong$4.09MMar 29, 2026sothebys.com
18.03.63Christie's, Hong Kong$1.93MMar 28, 2026heni.com
27.01.83China Guardian, Hong Kong$2.27MOct 8, 2025share.artpro.com
27.01.86Phillips, Hong Kong$3.83MSep 27, 2025heni.com

Market

Museums

Sources

All 100 artists

Follow the artists and receive alerts in the Unicorn Art Watch app.

Investing involves the risk of losing capital.

© Unicorn Private LLC · Unicorn Private Research