Signed in Chinese and English on bottom right; signed in English, and titled on the reverse. In 1957, Zao signed a long-term contract with the Kootz Gallery, one of the most influential art galleries in France at the time, and an agent for New York, which had signed such top artists as Pablo Picasso and Paul Soulage. Through the efforts of the two, by the 1960s Zao Wou-Ki had scaled the heights of the art world and was considered a “global artist,” a position built on Western post-war abstract art. As art critic Jia Fangzhou wrote: “Zao Wou-Ki was the first Chinese artist to find success in the West and the one with which the West most identified.” Throughout his life, Zao made a splash in Europe, the United States and Asia, holding more than 100 solo exhibitions around the globe, with his works collected by 129 museums and important international institutions, including the Centre Georges-Pompidou in Paris, the Tate Modern in London, The Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Museum of Fine Arts in Bilbao, Spain. At this time, Zao was considered not only called the “pride of China” but also a “global treasure.” On this occasion, China Guardian (HK) is honored to present for auction the work 04.06.62 from the collection of the renowned New York Kootz Gallery, completed in the 1960s when Zao was at the peak of his fame and one of the most sought after artists in the world. Through the luster of the lighting speed colours and lines visitors are invited to experience first-hand Zao- Wou-ki's world of freedom, boldness and soaring ambition.