Oil on canvas

81 × 65 cm. 31 7/8 × 25 5/8 in.

Signed in Chinese and English on bottom right; signed in English and Chinese, titled and dated on the reverse
PROVENANCE
Acquired directly by the original French collector from the artist in 1973
Du Lac Fine Art, Paris
Important Private Collection, Asia

This work is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity issued and signed by Mrs. Ching-Chao Chu, spouse of the artist and co-editor of the forthcoming catalogue raisonné of Chu Teh-Chun

Note： This work will be included in the artist's forthcoming catalogue raisonné being co-edited by Fondation Chu Teh-Chun and Mrs. Ching-Chao Chu

Embracing the Extremes of Light and Shade
Soaring Changes in the 1970s Art of Chu Teh-Chun

“After 1970, the paintings of Chu Teh-Chun became increasingly “imposing” as well as more akin to the spiritually exuded by the vast expanse of nature.”
—— Art historian Wang Che-hsiong

In any discussion of turning points in the artistic career of Chu Teh-Chun, 1970 represents a moment in time when the artist embraced deep light-shade aesthetics while combining Eastern and Western art. In 1969, the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, Holland held a retrospective exhibition of works by Rembrandt to hommage the 300th anniversary of the artist's death. After attending that event, Chu was greatly inspired and came to a contemplative understanding as to the key ways in which the arrangement of light and shade impacts painting. Thereafter, he started to incorporate “light sources” as elements in his work, an important leap forward in the creation of Chu's own distinctive artistic language.

At that time, Chu Teh-Chun had already gradually built up a reputation in the Western art world and from 1968 held exhibitions in Switzerland, France, Spain and Luxembourg, while also signing a four year contract with Galerie Soleil in Paris. Indeed, Chu used the opportunity presented by holding exhibitions overseas to travel around Europe, which enabled him to see works by the Renaissance masters and Western expressionist paintings which he found profoundly inspirational. This was reflected in his use of light and shade and the extremely impactful structural expressionism of his paintings from the 1970s, creating a stunning visual effect in which reality and virtuality coexisted.

The current auction offers a number of exquisite paintings by Chu Teh-Chun, of which two oil paintings from the 1970s are of particular note: The provenance of the two canvas works Sombre dans L'obscurité (Lot 54) and Composition N°467 (Lot 53) are well documented, particularly as they were purchased by collectors directly from the artist himself. Together these two works are a testament to Chu's use of soaring and exquisite brushwork in the 1970s.

Nocturne Sonata, Magical Light

Rembrandt's ingenious use of “chiaroscuro” in The Night Watch shows the main figures depicted as if lit by a stage spotlight. This eye-catching and mysterious sense of profundity inspired Chu Teh-Chun to similarly use a light source as the central orientation in his paintings, while also highlighting his embrace of the use of dichotomy in Eastern philosophy – Yin-Yang, light-shade, reality-virtuality.

Completed in 1976, Sombre dans L'obscurité is an extraordinary work in which Chu takes the contrast between light and shade to new extremes. The large expanse of black ink pours across the surface of the work like a dramatic prelude, as a sacred beam of light flows out of the dark night and the bright yellow first light of morning is seen on a distant mountain peak. The rolling verdant, emerald and dark greens gradually come into view and the light source serves as a guide. The scene is akin to a wandering nebula exuding untold energy while scattering inner Zen-like meditations on “The Way,” while also showcasing the profound realm of the senses where Yin and Yang coexist and light breaks through the chaos.

Modern Meaning for the Five Colors of Ink

At the same time, Chu Teh-Chun also applied his understanding of Eastern calligraphy, which he studied from a young age, to the expression of abstract structure in his paintings. In this period, the artist returned to calligraphy and started with brush force, though went on to further introduce feibai, chuixuan and other expressive forms replete with tension, as well as “the five colors of ink,” creating a kaleidoscope of change. This can be seen in the full, delightful and dripping ink lines in Sombre dans L'obscurité and the way in which they gallop forward gaining momentum like 10,000 steeds, as well as the interplay of abstract wild-cursive strokes as part of the day-night cycle, a vigorously played out beautiful nocturne poetry.

In the painting, the five ink colors created by changes in light -- charred black, heavy black, strong black, light black, and pale black -- echo the ideas behind the work of “the master of black” Pierre Soulages from the same period, who worked assiduously to capture changes in black through light. In the hands of Chu Teh-Chun this becomes the “Yin” in the artist's light-shade universe, whereas the color green, representing hope and energy, serves as the light source and is the “Yang,” highlighting the boundless exuberance of the cycle of life between heaven and earth. It is through the powerful contrast of light and dark, Yin and Yang, that Chu distills the essence of Eastern philosophy, taking life energy that breaks through the darkness to instill the duality of the Yin-Yang world with perpetual vitality.

Of Chu Teh-Chun's many multicolored painting since the 1970s Sombre dans L'obscurité is unique as the one with the most extreme and powerful light-shade contrast. This is derived from the theory of Yin and Yang in Eastern philosophy, but also represents the artist's most thorough exploration and expression of “light sources” making it particularly rare and invaluable. The work was previously shown at Galleria San Carlo in Naples, Italy in 1978, where the father of the original collector purchased it directly from Chu and this provenance of more than 40 years makes it a rare and unparalleled masterpiece.

Snowy Mountains, Life Reborn

I borrowed from Western experience to develop Tang and Song dynasty aesthetic ideas and paint ‘formless' paintings, which are an extension of the essential spirit of Chinese painting.
——Chu Teh-Chun

In contrast to the profound darkness of Sombre dans L'obscurité, Composition N°467 completed in 1972 has a white background that details imagery of mountains and rivers and expresses Chu Teh-Chun's approach to light-shade and reality-virtuality through a poetic “snowscape.” The work can be traced back to the beautiful scenery Chu encountered when he visited the Swiss Alps and saw Mont Blanc in 1965. In this painting, the artist takes a lofty mountain range shrouded in snow and extracts from it lines that dance and flow gracefully with a combination of reality and virtuality between the colors. It is almost as if the large white strokes capture the floating clouds and snow in their natural setting and establish the space between foreground and distance in the painting in a way that is reminiscent of Northern Song painters Fan Kuan's In Clear View of Streams and Mountains and Li Cheng's Buddhist Temple in Mountain, both of which have a layered depth of field. Moreover, the lingering green in the work co-exists with reality and virtuality, creating the visual wonder of a deep valley and distant mountain enshrouded in mist.

While visiting Munich, West Germany in 1972, Chu Teh-Chun gained a more profound understanding of artistic forms related to the expressionist art of the early 20th Century. As such, the lush scenery comprised of layered abstract lines in Composition N°467 is reminiscent of German painter Hubert Roestenburg's Autumn Near London. At the bottom of the painting the light and vital lines gradually transform into chaotic accumulated brush strokes that guide the viewer's visual exploration, with the overlapping and colliding malachite green, brown-red, reddish purple and ultramarine, like ravines with wind in the pines and babbling brooks, from which bursts forth vibrant energy. On the left and bottom of the painting there are two clearly visible large strokes, one vertical one horizontal, which divide up the multilayered spatial interactions and give life to the rich colors and forms of dots, lines and surfaces. This also evokes a powerful life rhythm, expressing through free and abstract brush strokes a scene of green grass, autumn forests and verdant life when the snow first starts to melt.

As Chu Teh-Chun pursued “light” it was in the extreme contrasts of light and shade that he found mature aesthetic expressive forms in the 1970, using abstract poetics to further expand Eastern arrangements of light-shade rhythms as he realized a leap forward in his own art.

Price estimate:
HKD: 2,100,000 - 3,100,000
USD: 269,800 - 398,300

Auction Result:
HKD: 2,520,000