One of the leading Chinese abstract artists of the 20th Century, Chu Teh-Chun’s oeuvre continues to have an abiding influence on artists of subsequent generations. He is venerated amongst the greats of Chinese modern art, affectionately referred to as one of the ‘Three Musketeers’ of Chinese modernism along with his old friends and classmates from the National Academy of Fine Arts in Hangzhou, Wu Guangzhong and Zao Wou-Ki. Born to a family of collectors of traditional Chinese calligraphy and ink painting, Chu was exposed to different modes of artistic representation from a young age. Persuaded by his father who recognised the young boy’s talent, Chu entered the Hangzhou National Academy of Fine Arts at the age of 15, and eventually studied under the tutelage of the late Lin Fengmian, a legend of modern Chinese art who espoused a visionary synthesis of Eastern and Western aesthetics.. With access to Western art magazines their professors brought back from Paris, students at the academy were introduced to works by Renoir, Matisse and Picasso, as well as Cézanne, whose work Chu has cited as a notable influence. Here, Chu became close with Zao and Wu, and although Chu was the first ethnic Chinese artist to be elected to the prestigious Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris, Zao and Wu too, were later appointed as members. Already an accomplished artist by the 1950s, Chu continued to be captivated by the works of French Impressionists and the stories shared by his former professors, prompting the artist to voyage to France in 1955.

 

“The artist absorbs what he sees in nature and refines it in his mind, and it is the power of the artist’s imagination, his sensibility, and his inner character that are revealed on the canvas. This is where the concepts behind Chinese painting and abstract painting very neatly come together.”
— Chu Teh-Chun

It was in France that Chu mastered his union of classical Chinese painting with Western abstraction. Immersed in an unprecedented creative era in Paris, the city provided Chu with intense artistic stimulation. Not only did the artist have unlimited access to the International Avant-Garde, extensive museum collections and rich cultural history, he was surrounded by like-minded artists investigating various forms of non-representation. This provided the ideal context for Chu to develop his own mode of abstraction: not by basing his technique on existing works, but instead as a fusion between Eastern and Western cultures.

 

 

A Turn Towards Abstraction

 

 

Turning away from figurative art and embracing abstraction upon his arrival to Paris, the abrupt change in Chu’s practice was partly inspired by his encounter with Abstract Expressionist Nicolas de Staël. First coming across de Staël’s works in his 1956 retrospective, the use of thick impasto and non-geometric manipulation of form led Chu to see abstraction as a viable method of self-expression, freed from the constraints of tangible forms.

 

Likening de Staël’s controlled spontaneity to that of caoshu and its uninterrupted stroke, Chu recalls, ‘It was a real revelation of the freedom of expression to me. From now on I freed myself from my twenty years of figurative work to follow my path in non-figurative painting. I slowly turned towards the inspiring thinking of traditional Chinese painting. I discovered the poetry in it and its way of observing nature which is close to Western neo-impressionist painting and particularly to abstract art. Working unconsciously on a synthesis of the two cultures, I suppressed emotion as the driving force and prolonged it through pictorial expression.’ ⁱ

 

 

 

An Ode to Personal Heritage: When East Meets West

 

“The uncontainable nature of ink allows a surprising ‘uncanny result’ with ‘superlative craftsmanship.’ While practicing ink painting, I wondered why don’t I integrate this ‘superlative craftsmanship’ into oil painting? Going through numerous challenges and experiments, I discovered ‘another world lies beyond.’”
— Chu Teh-Chun

Painted in 1963, No. 164 is a mesmerising example from the artist’s most defining period, demonstrating Chu’s exceptional mastery of form, texture, and depth. Moving away from the dominance of muted blacks and browns in the early 1960s, the current lot showcases a gradual shift towards lively colours, a feature that would eventually become the hallmark of Chu’s later works. Shades of deep blue and green merge with hues of saturated reds, all highlighted by solid black lines. Diluting oil paint to achieve the effect of thin ink washes, there is an added air of translucency to his unbridled, broad brushstrokes, reminiscent of grand ink masters such as Zhang Daqian’s modus operandi. Layered to create variations in thickness and tone, Chu’s canvas comes alive through the spontaneous energy of the artist’s hand, as singular lines morph into a graceful, swirling symphony of overlapping colours.

 

 

Although Chu adopted the European medium of oil painting, his distinct visual language was thoroughly informed by Chinese ink painting, in particular the grand landscapes of the Tang and Song Dynasty. Set against a white modulated background, No. 164 is presented in an unusual vertical format which recalls classical scroll-mounted paintings. Deliberately leaving negative space at the top of the canvas, the artist draws attention to the concentrated mélange of organic forms, drawing resemblance to the serene mountain scenes of Ma Yuan. Unlike the literati painters of the Southern School however,  Chu does not mean to represent the real world. Rather, his ambiguous compositions serve as outward expressions of the artist’s interior experience, producing poetic representations of the sublime that are emblematic of his harmonization between tradition and modernity.

 

“Previously, I was an objective painter, but now I am no longer interested in this way of painting, because after having begun to study abstract painting, I profoundly and obviously felt the freedom of expression to which it testifies.”
— Chu Teh-Chun

Encouraged by his father to study the kuangcao (wild-cursive script) of Wang Xizhi when young and having studied caoshu under the modern ink master Pan Tianshou,  Chu’s relocation to France did not stop his exploration of calligraphy throughout his career. More than rediscovering a long-lost passion for writing, Chu realised the possibility of integrating calligraphy concepts into his abstractions. Central to the current lot are striking black calligraphic lines that that run through the entire painted surface. They not only highlight his assured brushstrokes and provide compositional structure, but also enhance the dynamism of the canvas by injecting a vibrant energy across the work, giving the illusion of instantaneous movement. In marrying the delicateness of traditional ink with techniques of Western abstract art, Chu successfully unites the aesthetics of both cultures on a singular painterly surface, a testament to his legacy as one of the greats of Chinese modern art.

 

 

Collector’s Digest

 

• Not long after his move to Paris in 1955, Chu’s work began to garner much interest, and the 1960s witnessed his rise on the international art stage. Testament to the significance of his work, Chu was invited to exhibit at the São Paulo Biennale in 1969, and decades later in 1997, he became the first French painter of Chinese origin to be elected to the Académie des beaux-arts in Paris.

• In 1958, Chu was offered an exclusive 6-year contract by Maurice Panier, the Creative Director of Galerie Legendre. 1963 marked the crowning year of his collaboration with the gallery as the artist held his third solo show.

• Chu’s paintings are in the permanent collections of more than 50 museums around the world, including the Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville, Paris; Musée Cernuschi; Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris; Museum of Contemporary Art, Belgium; Shanghai Opera House, Shanghai; National Museum of History, Taipei; and Taipei Fine Art Museum, Taiwan.

 

ⁱ Chu Teh-Chun quoted in ‘Interview with Gérard Xuriguera’, Les Années 50, Arted, 1984