signed first edition Housed in a hard blue chemise with matching slipcase
1994 · Paris
by François Cheng
Écarts, 1994. First and only edition of this poetic and visual collaboration between longtime friends François Cheng and Zao Wou-Ki.
This deluxe edition includes two original full-page etchings and aquatints by Zao Wou-Ki and a separate suite of two signed and numbered engravings also by Zao Wou-Ki, printed at Atelier Lacourière et Frélaut, Paris. The etchings are powerfully evocative works created in the tradition of Chinese ink painting. The text by François Cheng, are printed on chine collé (China paper mounted on laminated paper)—a deliberate nod to their shared heritage. The design evokes the materials and spirit of classical Chinese scrolls, while remaining firmly within the Western livre d'artiste tradition.
Composed in Garamond, 14-point, and printed by the Hofer printing house, the book was finished on February 2, 1994.
The edition is strictly limited to 82 copies, all signed by both Zao Wou-Ki and François Cheng, and distributed as follows:
25 deluxe copies (nos. 1–25) include a separate suite of the two signed and numbered engravings, such as this one (no. 14);
50 regular copies (nos. 26–75) on Johannot vellum;
7 hors commerce copies (lettered A–G), reserved for collaborators and the Bibliothèque nationale.
This copy also includes a handwritten dedication by François Cheng in the justification: " Pour Jean Noel, cordialement " ("For Jean Noel, cordially").
Dimensions: 290 × 200 mm (approx. 11.4 × 7.9 in).
Though their artistic friendship extended over decades, Rompre le cri remains the only bibliophile work the two created together. Their shared trajectories—Zao Wou-Ki (b. 1920) and François Cheng (b. 1929), both born in China and later naturalized as French citizens—culminated in a poetic and visual dialogue. In 2002, Cheng became the first person of Chinese origin elected to the Académie Française, the same year Zao Wou-Ki was admitted to the Académie des Beaux-Arts. Cheng also authored the preface to Zao Wou-Ki's 1981 retrospective at the Grand Palais.
References : C. Chicha, M. Minssieux-Chamonard, Zao Wou-Ki. Estampes et livres illustrés, BnF, 2008, p. 131. ─ Y. Hendgen, Zao Wou-Ki et les poètes, 2015, p. 204-207. (Inventory #: N - 2025 - 74)
This deluxe edition includes two original full-page etchings and aquatints by Zao Wou-Ki and a separate suite of two signed and numbered engravings also by Zao Wou-Ki, printed at Atelier Lacourière et Frélaut, Paris. The etchings are powerfully evocative works created in the tradition of Chinese ink painting. The text by François Cheng, are printed on chine collé (China paper mounted on laminated paper)—a deliberate nod to their shared heritage. The design evokes the materials and spirit of classical Chinese scrolls, while remaining firmly within the Western livre d'artiste tradition.
Composed in Garamond, 14-point, and printed by the Hofer printing house, the book was finished on February 2, 1994.
The edition is strictly limited to 82 copies, all signed by both Zao Wou-Ki and François Cheng, and distributed as follows:
25 deluxe copies (nos. 1–25) include a separate suite of the two signed and numbered engravings, such as this one (no. 14);
50 regular copies (nos. 26–75) on Johannot vellum;
7 hors commerce copies (lettered A–G), reserved for collaborators and the Bibliothèque nationale.
This copy also includes a handwritten dedication by François Cheng in the justification: " Pour Jean Noel, cordialement " ("For Jean Noel, cordially").
Dimensions: 290 × 200 mm (approx. 11.4 × 7.9 in).
Though their artistic friendship extended over decades, Rompre le cri remains the only bibliophile work the two created together. Their shared trajectories—Zao Wou-Ki (b. 1920) and François Cheng (b. 1929), both born in China and later naturalized as French citizens—culminated in a poetic and visual dialogue. In 2002, Cheng became the first person of Chinese origin elected to the Académie Française, the same year Zao Wou-Ki was admitted to the Académie des Beaux-Arts. Cheng also authored the preface to Zao Wou-Ki's 1981 retrospective at the Grand Palais.
References : C. Chicha, M. Minssieux-Chamonard, Zao Wou-Ki. Estampes et livres illustrés, BnF, 2008, p. 131. ─ Y. Hendgen, Zao Wou-Ki et les poètes, 2015, p. 204-207. (Inventory #: N - 2025 - 74)
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