Oil on paper mounted on canvas

50.2 × 65 cm. 193/4 × 255/8 in.

Signed in Chinese and English, dated on bottom right

LITERATURE
2017, Chu Teh-Chun, Waddington Custot Gallery, London, Illustration 6
PROVENANCE
Private Collection, Asia

This work is accompanied with a certificate of authenticity issued and signed by Mrs. Chu Ching Chao of Atelier Chu Teh-Chun

Wonderful Mountains, glowing Spirits
The Successful Artistic Experimentation of Chu Teh-chun
Master Chinese abstract oil painter Chu Teh-Chun was able to develop his own unique artistic language by transcending the collision of Eastern and Western color and form. Although Chu used water-based materials to create unique oil paintings that differed from oil on canvas works, his gouache paintings are rarely seen in public. In addition, his brushwork makes full use of the “spirit” of this non traditional medium in a way that faithfully reveals the origin of the unique stroke rhythm in Chu Teh-Chun’s oil paintings, while such an unexpected experiment with oils showcases the artist’s unchanging original intent.
Revealing the Creative Thinking Behind Paper
In 2016, Chu Teh-Chun held an exhibition titled “Art Exhibition on Paper by Chu Teh-Chun” at the Centre Culturel de Chine à Paris, in France, which publicly highlighted the key role played by traditional medium in the artist’s paintings. It was not only a major source of the Eastern language in Chu’s paintings, but also an important link to his abstract oil paintings and artistic conceptualization. For Chu, a creative process that involved the daily interaction of calligraphy and painting enabled him to realize the shared elements of abstract painting and traditional ink art. As such, although some of the artist’s brushwork depictions and use of color can appear haphazard and random, the result reveals a creative mindset that is more real and free than in oil painting.
An Orchestra of Color and Strength Across Time and Space
When compared to the larger brushwork movements on canvas, experimenting with oil colors on other media gives voice to the more private and spiritual aspects of Chu Teh-Chun’s artistic ideas. For example, in Untitled (Lot 709) from the 1970s the artist uses his flowing brushwork to showcase the gentle beauty of Asian art, while the strong contrast between light and shade and clear layering highlight the elegance of Western art, providing the viewer with much on which to reflect.
In terms of composition, numerous and complex colors overlay each other in limited space, but there is structure to the way in which Chu focuses and scatters the colors, and how they permeate the picture to create a formal aesthetic that is balanced and harmonious. The intense “impacting” colors on the left of the painting are in stark contrast to the unfathomable dark red on the right, almost like fireworks going off in the dark night sky. In that moment, there is an explosion of light and color with the surrounding areas incrementally transformed into milder red and yellow “fluctuations,” like a series of resonances in the universe that underscore the interconnectedness of Mankind and all living things. In this way, Chu Teh-Chun breaks with the traditional rule of balance in painting and calligraphy, preferring instead to use the conflict and confluence of colors to highlight the contrast between light and dark space on either side of the painting. As a result, the picture is replete with surprising dramatic rhythm, through which Chu successfully creates clear spatial awareness for viewers even in such an abstract work.
In terms of expression, whether the lines in the painting Untitled are rapid, slow or forced, they are imbued with the signature “calligraphic” rhythm of Chu Teh-Chun. Combined with brilliant and unrestrained warm colors or calm, deep color hues, this presents an orchestra of color and strength. Moreover, although this creative concept displays a certain resonance with abstract expressionism, the line aesthetic in Untitled evolves from the “human” sentiment in the work, which together with the artist’s colors creates “meaningful forms” and a formalist aesthetic akin to that of Clive Bell.
Replete with Eastern Will and Spirit
In contrast to Untitled, the painting 1961 No.92 (Lot 710) is imbued with a stronger sense of ink art-like Asian rhythm. In addition, the color gradation created by the mixture of water-based pigments and media imbues the work the feel of a Song Dynasty mountain painting. At the same time, the rhythmic natural realm created by the overlapping lines and “black ink” showcases Chu Teh-Chun’s pursuit of traditional culture while living overseas. In contrast, the different shades of black, grey tones and the free arrangement or precisely controlled brushstrokes, display the sketching and painting-from-life skills the artist learned in France. Moreover, the powerful black line that runs through the middle of the work is infused with the spiritual strength to transcend the paper, whereas the grey areas are engraved with the artist’s free and profound state of mind, creating an image tension that absorbs its energy from all living things.

Price estimate:
HKD: 1,100,000 - 1,800,000
USD: 141,000 - 230,800

Auction Result:
HKD: 1,298,000