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a painting of a blue and purple painting in a white framean image of a painting of a landscape with a river in the foreground and mountains in the backgroundan image of a painting of a tree in a fieldan image of a painting of a bird flying over a body of water
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167 - Informel Wou-Ki, Zao 8 aquatint etchings on BFK de Rives pap…
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Estimate €7,000 - €9,000
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Description
Informel Wou-Ki, Zao 8 aquatint etchings on BFK de Rives paper. In: Arthur Rimbaud, *Les Illuminations*. Paris, Le Club français du livre, 1967. Each 31 x 23.3 cm (42 x 31.4 cm). – Signed in the colophon. - Magnificent prints, executed in vibrant colour palettes and finely graded aquatint, in which Zao Wou-Ki’s abstract fields of form appear as vibrant, atmospheric zones of light on heavy vellum paper. Agerup 174–181. - Marquet, Zao Wou-Ki, les estampes, 1937–1974, 1975, 175–182. - One of 200 copies. - Signed by Zao Wou-Ki, a magnificent portfolio containing 8 full-page multicoloured aquatint etchings. Zao Wou-Ki’s eight colour prints relating to the *Illuminations* are not illustrations of individual poems, but visual condensations of the entire poetic cosmos. Colour fields, lines, translucent overlays and traces of the watercolour technique transferred to the print create an interstitial space of light, mist and explosion, reminiscent of Rimbaud’s visions of ‘Illuminations’ – moments of sudden insight – without defining them in terms of specific motifs. A defining feature is Zao Wou-Ki’s hybrid pictorial syntax: he is influenced as much by Chinese calligraphy and landscape painting as by post-war European abstraction (Tachism, Informel, Abstract Expressionism). In the *Illuminations*, this condenses into floating, mostly centred clusters of forms that appear like distant cities, eruptive natural phenomena or cosmic constellations, only to elude interpretation in the next moment as purely painterly, non-representational formations. Delicate, calligraphic lines – often like a flow of script, sometimes like seismic curves – run through cloudy swathes of colour, creating the impression that Rimbaud’s language itself has been translated into an abstract, visual calligraphy. The colour palette ranges from nocturnal blues, earthy umbras, fiery reds and muted yellows and ochres. These colours engage in an unobtrusive yet distinct dialogue with motifs from the poems: city lights and harbour beacons, twilights, ‘illuminations’ of both an inner and outer horizon, but also the dark realms of exile and inner turmoil that permeate Rimbaud’s text. Through the medium of aquatint, Zao Wou-Ki succeeds in transposing the transparency of his watercolours into the depth of intaglio printing: Misty transitions, soft, almost smoky areas and, in between, sharply incised lines create a tension between diffusion and conciseness that mirrors the poetic explosive power of Rimbaud’s fragments. Signed in the colophon. - Magnificent prints, executed in vibrant colour palettes and finely graded aquatint, in which Zao Wou-Ki’s abstract fields of form appear as vibrant, atmospheric zones of light on heavy vellum paper. - Magnificent prints: Zao Wou-Ki’s eight colour plates for *Illuminations* are not illustrations of individual poems but visual condensations of the work’s entire poetic cosmos. Colour fields, lines, translucent overlays and traces of watercolour technique translated into print generate an intermediate realm of light, mist and explosion that recalls Rimbaud’s visions of ‘illuminations’ – sudden flare-ups of perception – without fixing them to specific motifs. Characteristic is Zao Wou-Ki’s hybrid visual syntax: he is shaped as much by Chinese calligraphy and landscape painting as by European post-war abstraction (Tachism, Art Informel, Abstract Expressionism). In the *Illuminations*, this condenses into hovering, mostly centred clusters of form that resemble distant cities, eruptive natural phenomena or cosmic constellations, only to recede in the next instant back into purely painterly, non-figurative configurations. Fine, calligraphic lines – often like a flow of script, sometimes like seismic curves – traverse cloudy bands of colour, giving the impression that Rimbaud’s language itself has been translated into an abstract visual calligraphy. The colour palette oscillates between nocturnal blues, earthy umbers, glowing reds and muted yellows and ochres. These colours enter into an unobtrusive yet distinct dialogue with motifs from the poems: city lights and harbour fires, twilights, ‘illuminations’ of an inner and outer horizon, but also the dark zones of exile and inner division that run through Rimbaud’s text. Through the medium of aquatint, Zao Wou-Ki succeeds in transposing the transparency of his watercolours into the depth of intaglio printing: misty transitions, soft, almost smoky passages and, in between, sharply incised lines create a tension between diffusion and precision that corresponds to the explosive poetic force of Rimbaud’s fragments.
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About the sale Modern and Contemporary Art
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Auction time 07/11/2026 at 11:00 AM
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