ZAO WOU-KI AND MICHAUX,
A STORY OF FRIENDSHIP

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The dialogue between two great artists, Henri Michaux and Zao Wou-Ki, forms the central theme of the Berthet-Aittouarès Gallery’s 40th-anniversary celebrations, centred on a collection of 40 works with prices ranging from €7,000 to €200,000. Organised in collaboration with the Zao Wou-Ki Foundation and the Henri Michaux Archives, this exhibition subtly traces the artistic friendship that bound the two men from their first meeting in 1948 through to the great period of Chinese ink paintings in the 1970s. For Michèle and Odile Aittouarès, who run the gallery as a dynamic mother-daughter duo, the spirit of the venue is also very much in evidence at this festive exhibition.

Indeed, the Berthet-Aittouarès Gallery has its roots on the site of the famous Galerie
Pierre, where Pierre Loeb had exhibited the paintings of the Belgian-born poet and
painter as early as 1938, and later, at the latter’s invitation, the works
of Zao Wou-Ki. Thus, this anniversary exhibition offers an insight into the unique relationship that bound the two artists. Whilst the Franco-Chinese painter was going through a period of profound doubt and hardship, Michaux kindly encouraged him
to return to working with ink on paper.

The dazzling result can be seen in this exhibition.