A lithographic legacy

"His art turned abstract from the 1950s to the '60s," He says.

It later became more subjective, and focused purely on the strokes, colors and lines.

He finds the seamless fusion of Eastern and Western philosophy in Zao's later creation period.

For example, he says, his watercolors' rhythm and "breath" show rich connections with his ink art's freehand brushwork.

"Painting is the same as breathing," Zou used to say.

"People need to breathe. They can't live without breathing. Painting also needs to breathe. You must put in your own feelings and let the picture breathe with you."

Zou "discovered" lithography in 1949, according to the Zao Wou-ki Foundation, and printmaking remained an important part of his creation afterward.

Lithography is often considered an especially artistic and painterly form of printmaking because of its complicated processes and use of drawing and coloring multiple layers by hand.

Founded by Shanghai Trust in 2016, the Bund 111 Art Space has hosted exhibitions of such important artists as Wu Guanzhong, Chen Yifei and Xu Beihong. It regularly hosts salons and other educational projects about art and investment during exhibitions. 

If you go

No Limits: An exhibition in Celebration of the Centennial Anniversary of Zao Wou-ki's Birth

9 am-4:30 pm (last entry before 4 pm), Monday-Saturday, Oct 23-Dec 31. Bund 111 Art Space, 111 Jiujiang Road, Huangpu district, Shanghai.