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Beautiful 2-tone colour lacquer
box
Namiki
by Zao Won-Ki 2002
An
original creation by Zao Wou-Ki realised for Namiki in a limited series of
50 pieces.
When
Namiki asked Zao Wou-Ki, one of the greatest artists of our time to decorate
a pen, the latter was both amused by the idea to exercise his talent on an
unusual support and attracted by this new expression which gave him the
opportunity to take part in the creation of a beautiful object.
Born
in
Beijing
, Zao Wou-Ki
studied painting at the Ecole des Beaux Arts of Hangzhou before coming to
Paris
in 1948. His
work is the symbol of the fusion of culture and artistic expressions between
France
and
China
.
The
painter who has always had close ties with writers and poets (A.Malraux,
Leopold Sedar Senghor, Claude Roy, Yves Bonnefoy and of course Henri Michaux
who dedicated his "Jeux d'encre"... to him), has been especially
inspired by this writing instrument, a reservoir of ink and thought that the
English have poetically called "Fountain pen", and that the
Japanese when they discovered it, have called the "Brush of 10,000
years".
To
decorate it, he has drawn from the sources of calligraphy, interpreting in
his own style the ideograms finely engraved four thousand years ago on the
Chinese bronzes. The great artists who master the art of lacquer have
faithfully copied them out and drawn in free hand in gold characters on a
background of black natural lacquer this modern version of the ancestral
writing on each of the 50 numbered copies published by Namiki and which bear
the name of "Zao Wou-Ki".
A
few dates ...
1921
Zao Wou-Ki was born in
Beijing
on February 13th in an
aristocratic family. At 14, he attends the Ecole des Beaux Arts of Hangzhou,
regarded as the best in
China
. In 1947, he exhibits his work in
Shanghai
.
1948
He settles in
Paris
where he meets Henri Michaux,
Pierre Loeb. He makes friends with the composer Edgar Varese, travels a lot
in
Europe
and in the
United States
.
1962
He makes 10 lithographs to illustrate "The Temptation of the West"
by Andre Malraux, the Minister of Culture who intercedes in his favour in
order that he gets the French citizenship.
1972
He goes
back to
China
after 24 years of absence.
1993 He is made Commander of the Legion of Honour by the
president of the
French
Republic
.
Presentation
of his work :
Exhibition
at the Grand Palais in
Paris
and at the National Library of
Paris as well as in
Japan
(1976).
Many
exhibitions in
New York
during the 80's.
Retrospective
at the Gulbenkian Foundation in
Lisbon
(1992).
Retrospective
at the Cultural Centre of Contemporary Art of
Mexico
(1994).
He
is awarded the "Premium Imperiale Award of Painting" in 1994. The
Emperor of Japan hands him over this honour in
Tokyo
.
Retrospective
at the
Kaohsiung
Museum
of Fine Arts in
Taiwan
and at the
Museum
of
Art
of
Hong Kong
(1996). Retrospective in
Shanghai
,
Beijing
,
Canton
(1998-1999). Retrospective at the
IVAM in
Valencia
,
Spain
(2001).
Dimensions
Total length
(cap closed) : 174 mm (6.9")
Total length
with cap posted behind the barrel : 213
mm (8.4")
Barrel
diameter: 16.5
mm (0.6")
Size 50 Nib - 18K solid gold nib
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