Lao-c´ – Tao te ťing / Wu Yi (serigraph)

This is the fourth volume in the bibliophile Czech Laozi Edition and it presents Berta Kresbová’s translation of the Dao De Jing.  Her now legendary translation was first published by the Odeon Publishing House of Beautiful Literature and the Arts and included illustrations by the painter Zdeněk Sklenář. This new edition of Krebsová’s Dao brings a surprise in the form of illustrations by the contemporary Chinese artist Wu Yi, who adds power to the book and transforms the ingrained traditions of its accompanying artwork.  Wu Yi created three original prints for the bibliophile edition, based on pencil drawings he had completed on Chinese hand-made paper for the Dao De Jing in that same year. All of the artworks are hand-bound into the publications.  The book was published in a print run of 110 copies, of which XX are author’s copies. That same year saw the publication of the third of the four-volume small edition of the illustrated Czech version of Laozi, which represents a major Czech translation of the Dao De Jing.

Wu Yi lived and created his art in Prague in 2013 and 2014. He presented his works at the exhibition Wu Yi – Prague Spring, which was held at Galerie Václav Špála, which was co-organised by the PPF corporation and Galerie Zdeněk Sklenář from 28 November 2013 to 5 January 2014. An eponymous book was published to accompany the exhibition.