This exquisite lithograph by Zao Wou-Ki (1920–2013), titled Sans titre (Untitled), from the album Ediciones Poligrafa, Barcelona - Redfern Gallery, London, originates from the 1979 edition published by Ediciones Poligrafa, Barcelona, in collaboration with Redfern Gallery, London; printed by La Poligrafa, S.A., Barcelona, October 23, 1979. This artwork reflects Zao’s poetic and atmospheric visual language, where sweeping gestures, luminous tonal gradations, and calligraphic energy converge to evoke the elemental forces of nature and the meditative rhythm of space.
Executed as a lithograph on velin d'Arches paper. 10 x 7.5 inches. Unsigned and unnumbered as issued. The edition exemplifies the refined craftsmanship of La Poligrafa atelier, one of the most important print workshops in postwar Spain.
Artwork Details:
Artist: Zao Wou-Ki (1920–2013)
Title: Sans titre (Untitled), from Ediciones Poligrafa, Barcelona - Redfern Gallery, London, 1979
Medium: Lithograph on velin d'Arches paper
Dimensions: 10 x 7.5 inches
Inscription: Unsigned and unnumbered as issued
Date: 1979
Publisher: Ediciones Poligrafa, Barcelona, in collaboration with Redfern Gallery, London
Printer: La Poligrafa, S.A., Barcelona
Catalogue raisonne reference: Zao, Wou-ki, et al. Zao Wou-Ki, the Graphic Work: A Catalogue Raisonne, 1937–1995. Edition Heede & Moestrup, 1994, illustration 292.
Condition: Well preserved, consistent with age and medium
Provenance: From Ediciones Poligrafa, Barcelona - Redfern Gallery, London, 1979
Notes:
Excerpted from the album, This album has been published for the exhibition of artists who have worked for Ediciones Poligrafa, Barcelona, at the Redfern Gallery, 20 Cork Street, London W. 1, from December 4th, 1979, to January 31st, 1980. This album was finished in Barcelona on 23rd October 1979 on the presses of La Poligrafa, S.A. The English edition for the Redfern Gallery has been limited to M examples. There is also a deluxe edition with a portfolio containing a selection of the lithographs with full margins, 37 1/2 x 27 cm., specially made for this album, signed and limited to C examples. Ediciones Poligrafa, Barcelona - Redfern Gallery, London
About the Publication:
Ediciones Poligrafa, Barcelona - Redfern Gallery, London, published in 1979, represents a significant collaborative exhibition album produced to accompany an international presentation of artists associated with Ediciones Poligrafa, one of Spain’s most influential postwar publishing houses. Conceived as both a documentation of artistic production and a collectible portfolio, the album brought together works by leading contemporary artists whose practices reflected the dynamic evolution of European abstraction and printmaking in the late twentieth century. Produced at the renowned La Poligrafa workshop in Barcelona, the publication exemplifies the high technical standards and collaborative spirit that defined Spanish printmaking during this period. Issued in conjunction with the exhibition at the Redfern Gallery in London, the album underscores the growing international dialogue between Spanish and British art institutions, while serving as a testament to the role of publishers and print ateliers in disseminating modern and contemporary art across cultural boundaries.
About the Artist:
Zao Wou-Ki (1920–2013) was a Chinese-French painter whose poetic fusion of Eastern philosophy and Western abstraction established him as one of the most influential and internationally revered artists of the 20th century. Born in Beijing and trained at the Hangzhou National College of Art under the modernist master Lin Fengmian, Zao developed a lifelong philosophy of artistic harmony uniting the spirit of Chinese calligraphy with the expressive freedom of European modernism. Moving to Paris in 1948, he immersed himself in the vibrant postwar art scene and became a key figure of the Ecole de Paris, forming friendships with Pablo Picasso, Alexander Calder, Alberto Giacometti, Salvador Dali, Joan Miro, Wassily Kandinsky, Marcel Duchamp, and Man Ray. These interactions profoundly shaped his aesthetic vision: from Picasso he absorbed structural invention, from Miro and Calder he learned rhythmic balance and play, from Kandinsky a belief in the spiritual power of color, and from Duchamp and Man Ray an understanding of art as philosophical inquiry. Zao’s early paintings reflected the influence of Paul Klee, whose poetic abstraction inspired him to explore symbolic form and rhythm, but by the 1950s, he abandoned figurative motifs to create vast, luminous fields of motion and energy that blended the techniques of Western abstraction with the meditative essence of Chinese ink painting. His signature style sweeping calligraphic gestures layered in radiant pigments captured elemental forces such as wind, water, and light not through representation but through emotion, embodying what he called painting the breath of life. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Zao achieved international acclaim, exhibiting at the Museum of Modern Art, the Tate, and the Centre Pompidou, and becoming a bridge between Eastern and Western modernism. His paintings dynamic yet tranquil, spontaneous yet precise reflect the Taoist principle of balance and the belief that creation arises from the dialogue between chaos and order. In later decades, he deepened this synthesis in monumental works such as Juin-Octobre 1985 and Hommage a Claude Monet, where radiant layers of color and space evoke cosmic landscapes of thought and feeling. His influence spread across generations, inspiring artists such as Chu Teh-Chun, Wu Guanzhong, Pierre Soulages, and contemporary figures exploring cross-cultural abstraction. Collectors and curators continue to celebrate his art for its technical mastery, emotional depth, and universal language of light and motion. Zao Wou-Ki remains a cornerstone of modern abstraction a painter philosopher who transformed gesture into poetry and silence into color. His highest auction record was achieved by Juin-Octobre 1985, which sold for approximately 65 million USD at Sotheby’s, Hong Kong, on September 30, 2018, reaffirming his legacy as one of the most visionary, spiritual, and collectible artists of the modern era.
Zao Wou Ki Sans titre 1979 lithograph Poligrafa Redfern Gallery abstract print Zao collectible lithograph.
