Zao Wou-Ki (1920 – 2013) was born in Beijing, China and is amongthe most recognizedChinese artists in the world. Zao synthesized tenets of modernism, calligraphy, and traditional Chinese landscape painting. Using primarily oil paint, watercolor, and—eventually—ink, Zao developed a unique style defined by contrasting colors, intense linework, and lyrical abstraction. In 1994, he received the Japan Art Association’s Praemium Imperiale Award for Painting and in 2006, the Ordre national de la Légion d’honneur. His works can be found in the collections of the Louvre, the Centre Pompidou, the Guggenheim Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Tate, among many others.