M+, Asia’s global museum of contemporary visual culture in the West Kowloon Cultural District (WestK) in Hong Kong, is proud to present Zao Wou-Ki: Master Printmaker. The exhibition is Asia’s first major retrospective of the graphic works of Chinese French artist Zao Wou-Ki (1920–2013), one of the most influential abstract artists of the mid- and late twentieth-century. The exhibition traces Zao’s life-long printmaking practice, from 1949 to 2000. It shows how prints were a crucial dimension of his art, characterised by continuously experimenting with different techniques and styles. Prints also enabled Zao to collaborate with a global network of writers, artists, and other cultural figures, positioning him as an eminent cross-cultural figure. His work transcended boundaries, contributing to the post-war cultural landscapes of Europe, Asia, and the United States. Generously supported by Major Sponsor Cathay, the exhibition will be held in the Main Hall Gallery from 13 December 2025 through 3 May 2026.

Co-curated by M+ and the Zao Wou-Ki Foundation, Zao Wou-Ki: Master Printmaker offers new perspectives on Zao’s prolific printmaking practice. Organised chronologically and thematically, the exhibition features nearly 180 works from the significant collection held at M+, including prints, illustrated books, works on paper, and archival materials, which were acquired through a major donation to M+ by Madame Françoise Marquet-Zao, the wife of the late artist and Chief Curator and President of the Zao Wou-Ki Foundation. The exhibition also includes a selection of works donated by Zao’s daughter Sin-May Roy Zao, alongside more than fifty paintings, prints, books, and works on paper loaned from museums and private collections around the world. Among the highlights are seminal pieces such as Lecture par Henri Michaux de huit lithographies de Zao Wou-Ki (A Reading of Eight Lithographs of Zao Wou-Ki by Henri Michaux) (1950), Piazza Siena (1951), and À la gloire de l’image et art poétique (To the Glory of the Image and the Art of Poetry) (1977).

Zao Wou-Ki: Master Printmaker explores printmaking as a medium that inspired and informed many of his experiments in abstract painting, positioning prints as an equally significant aspect of his artistic practice. This Special Exhibition offers the rare opportunity to experience the full arc of Zao’s graphic work, from his first experiments in Paris at the end of 1940s to the end of his career five decades later. The exhibition is organised into three main sections:

• Encountering Printmaking: This section introduces Zao Wou-Ki’s early forays into printmaking, beginning with his arrival in Paris in 1948 and immersion into the city’s art scene. Though already familiar with woodblock printing from his training in China, Zao learned new techniques such as lithography and etching from his peers in France. He described printmaking as ‘almost a game’, a more playful and less predictable process than oil painting. As his mastery of the medium grew, his prints began to attract the attention of art galleries and institutions.

• Towards Abstraction: As Zao continued to experiment with printmaking, he began visualising elemental forces and the imaginary landscapes of his inner world. This shift unlocked new poetic and philosophical potentials for his art, marked by a decisive move towards abstraction. By this point, Zao was a highly experienced printmaker, embracing new techniques such as drypoint, sugar lift, and aquatint. His compositions from the late 1950s are characterised by dynamic gestural lines and bold colours, filling the surface with expressive energy. Many of these techniques and styles echo the ink painting and calligraphy he studied in China in his youth.

• No Boundaries: The section presents Zao’s late graphic works, which embody a mature synthesis of Eastern and Western artistic traditions. From the late 1970s onwards, Zao approached both painting and printmaking with renewed versatility and freedom. He blended techniques from Chinese and European artistic traditions to express ideas of harmony, balance, and nature inspired by Taoist philosophy. Over time, Zao’s poetic compositions became more varied and his colour palettes grew brighter as he pushed the boundaries of printmaking.

Complementing these main chapters, three side stories offer deeper insight into Zao’s artistic process and personal network. What is printmaking? introduces the tools and techniques Zao used, providing audiences with a hands-on understanding of the medium. How does printmaking bring people together? celebrates Zao’s global network of collaborators, highlighting the lasting friendships and creative exchanges that enriched his work. How do poetry and prints enrich each other? invites visitors to explore how prints can connect text and images to create new artistic expressions.

Suhanya Raffel, Museum Director, M+, says, ‘We are thrilled to present Zao Wou‑Ki: Master Printmaker, the first major retrospective in Asia dedicated to the graphic art of this towering figure in twentieth‑century abstraction. By foregrounding prints, illustrated books, and archival materials, we hope to expand our understanding of Zao’s life and work. The exhibition affirms M+’s commitment to the cross-cultural dialogues that shape contemporary visual expression. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to Madame Françoise Marquet-Zao with the support of the Zao Wou-Ki Foundation for her generous donations to M+, which have made this landmark exhibition possible.’

Françoise Marquet‑Zao, Chief Curator and President, Zao Wou‑Ki Foundation, says, ‘This exhibition is a tribute to my husband Zao Wou-Ki’s lifelong dedication to art. Zao considered printmaking as a realm of inexhaustible possibility. It is profoundly meaningful to see his graphic oeuvre presented with such depth at a global museum. This exhibition builds on the Foundation’s collaboration with M+ to ensure that Zao’s legacy continues to resonate with future generations, through research, conservation, and public engagement. I believe this exhibition will inspire Hong Kong audiences to explore his extraordinary life, career, and printmaking practice.’

Doryun Chong, Artistic Director and Chief Curator, M+, says, ‘Zao Wou‑Ki’s prints are central to his artistic evolution. Through printmaking, Zao explored technical possibilities that deeply informed his painting—from the delicate tonalities of aquatint to the bold, expressive gestures of drypoint. This exhibition reveals how his graphic works served as a laboratory for ideas, enabling him to compress vast spatial concepts into intimate formats. By presenting these works alongside paintings and archival materials, we invite visitors to experience the dynamic interplay between mediums as well as between Chinese and European artistic philosophies. They will see Zao as an artist who consistently challenged the boundaries of expression and cultural identity.’

Dr Wu Mo, Sigg Curator, M+, and Yann Hendgen, Art Director, Zao Wou‑Ki Foundation, say, ‘Our curatorial approach highlights both the technical and the poetic aspects of Zao Wou-Ki's printmaking, grouping key bodies of work and archival materials to illuminate Zao’s creative processes. It reveals how his technical decisions led to the luminous geographies of his abstraction. At the same time, we invite visitors to discover the beauty and intricacy of printmaking itself. By foregrounding technique, we encourage visitors to see Zao’s graphic experiments not as peripheral to his paintings, but as integral to the conceptual and material evolution of his practice.’

Ticketing arrangements

Visitors can access all M+ galleries exhibitions, including Zao Wou-Ki: Master Printmaker, with a single-price admission ticket. Tickets are HKD 190 for adults and HKD 100 for visitors eligible for concessions*. Children ages 6 and below enjoy free admission. Kid and Adult Combo Tickets* are also available for adults and children ages 7 to 11: HKD 250 for one adult and one child or HKD 400 for two adults and one child. M+ tickets are available for online purchase via the M+ website, WestK website, WestK App, Cityline, China Travel Service (Hong Kong) Limited, Fliggy, Klook, KKday, and Trip.com. For details, please refer to the M+ website.

*Concession tickets are available for full-time students, children ages 7 to 11, senior citizens ages 60 and above, persons with disabilities and one companion, and Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) recipients.

M+ Membership

M+ annual membership and patron membership offer an exclusive experience of contemporary visual culture for visitors of all ages and backgrounds. M+ Members can enjoy unlimited admission to all M+ exhibitions by presenting their valid membership card upon entry. They can also enjoy access to the exclusive M+ Lounge with guests, M+ Private Viewings, priority ticket purchasing, and much more. The annual fee for individual membership is HKD 600, and dual membership is HKD 1,000. Young Member and Senior Member are available at half price. Family Membership is available with an annual fee of HKD 1,200. Meanwhile, M+ Patrons enjoy unlimited admission to all exhibitions with up to three guests per visit. M+ Members and Patrons can attend exclusive previews to exhibitions prior to public opening, while Patrons receive personal invitations to private events and fifty per cent discounts on additional exhibition tickets. For more information, please visit the M+ website.

About Zao Wou-Ki

Zao Wou-Ki (1920–2013) was one of the greatest abstract artists of the twentieth century. Immersed in Chinese painting and calligraphy in his youth, Zao graduated from the National College of Art in Hangzhou (now the China Academy of Art), where he studied under Lin Fengmian, Wu Dayu, and other progressive painters. This group of artists had studied in Europe in the 1920s and brought back new styles and teaching methods. After graduation, Zao taught at his alma mater and participated in exhibitions in Shanghai and Chongqing alongside other avant-garde artists, including Lin, Wu, Ting Yin Yung, Guan Liang, and Li Zhongsheng.

In 1948, Zao moved to Paris, where he would live for most of his life. He developed a signature style of lyrical abstraction, a dynamic visual language that combines Chinese influences and oil painting with the layered techniques of printmaking. In the early 1970s, he started to revisit the traditional medium of ink, which later became an important parallel to his oil paintings. He spent a substantial amount of time in China for various exhibitions and projects, including two large-scale paintings commissioned by I. M. Pei for Fragrant Hill Hotel (1982) in Beijing. Zao also taught at the Zhejiang Academy of Fine Arts (his alma mater, formerly the National College of Art, now the China Academy of Art), often accompanied by his wife, curator and art historian Françoise Marquet-Zao, whom he married in 1977.

Zao’s work is in the collections of many museums across Europe, North America, and Asia. He became a French citizen in 1964 thanks to his friend André Malraux, who was also serving as French Minister for Cultural Affairs. He was made an Officier de l’Ordre de la Légion d’honneur in 1984 and a Grand officier in 2006. In 1994, he received the Praemium Imperiale Award for Painting from the Japanese Emperor. He was elected to the Académie des Beaux-Arts in 2002. He died in Switzerland in 2013.

About M+

M+ is Asia’s global museum of contemporary visual culture. Located in Hong Kong’s West Kowloon Cultural District (WestK), it is dedicated to collecting, exhibiting, and interpreting visual art, design and architecture, moving image, and Hong Kong visual culture of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. The landmark M+ building on Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbourfront was designed by the world-renowned architectural firm Herzog & de Meuron in partnership with TFP Farrells and Arup. It spans a total floor area of 65,000 square metres, featuring thirty-three galleries alongside a Learning Hub, Moving Image Centre, Research Centre, and Roof Garden, among other event and programming spaces. The M+ Facade is one of the largest LED screens in the world, showcasing commissioned artworks on the Hong Kong skyline every evening. The museum stewards a multidisciplinary permanent collection that includes objects from regions across Asia and beyond. A highlight is the M+ Sigg Collection, one of the world’s most comprehensive collections of Chinese contemporary art. Today, M+ is a nexus for researching and presenting contemporary visual culture, inspiring thought and curiosity.

About the West Kowloon Cultural District (WestK)

WestK is one of the largest and most ambitious cultural hubs in the world and Hong Kong’s new cultural tourism landmark, spanning forty hectares alongside Victoria Harbour. WestK comprises a mix of landmark arts and cultural facilities, including world-class museums M+ and the Hong Kong Palace Museum, intricately designed performing arts venues the Xiqu Centre and Freespace, the eleven-hectare Art Park with a waterfront promenade, and the upcoming WestK Performing Arts Centre.

Hosting over 1,000 exhibitions, performances, programmes, and events each year, WestK provides a vital platform for both emerging and established artists. WestK welcomes more than ten million visitors each year, evolving as the international cultural brand of Hong Kong and strengthening the city’s strategic role as an East-meets-West centre for international cultural exchange.