AND BEFORE I LEAVE FOR CHINA......

Vue en ville - 1956
When I was talking about Serge Poliokoff, I mentioned that some abstract art is too busy and can shout at you because it’s moving all over the place. Some might say this of Chu Teh-Chun’s work. I don’t find it so as the closer one looks at his abstraction, the more forms and recognizable (for the viewer) shapes become. 

He was born in in China (Baitou ) in 1920. He lives in France today and has taken out French nationality. Chu was the last of three sons. I gather the law of a one child per family was not applicable at that moment. He came from a wealthy and artistic family His father and grandfather were doctors and collectors of calligraphies and Chinese paintings.

 A Professor at the University and recognized as such, he still moved to France in in 1955 with Tung Ching-Chao 
(a student) leaving his wife and daughter behind in China. I gather the Louvre was his first stop but it was in 1956 that he discovered the work of Nicolas de Staël...and abstract art.
Vue sur la Rue A (a little like de Staël)


Chu is very close to nature and comes from the Lyrical Abstraction school  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyrical_abstraction) 

which I really discovered with my Mother and the end of the 90’s. I can still see us together in the  exhibition at the Luxembourg and my saying to her «Why didn’t you show me this earlier?» «We are both learning now» was her answer. We were learning about the school as some of the work we had discovered before.

  1.  The school is strength and serenity and Chu defines  this in his paintings which bridge the dialogue between traditionnal chinese and western art. As you will see below, the work can not really be compared with any we know - or should I say, I know, as there is something Chinese about it and yet it is still European. 

Meeting 1978

Emotion Naissante - 1991

No title - 2008

Céleste Fraicheur -2006

N° 286 -1968
 Music  inspires his art. Poetry dictates what colours he will use. Actually, he uses few colours - perhaps a dozen: reds, greens, blues which he mixes on his palette. Some of his work can come close to monolithic. 



 His abstraction is rich in movement with another form of energy. Or I find it so. 

2009 - Guimet museum



The first time I came across Chu Teh-Chun was at the Guimet museum (oriental) in 2009 where I saw his ceramics and took a photograph of every one. Perhaps 50?

The relationship between the two cultures was eye catching to say the least. I wonder now if I will see his work in Pekin next week?

 Just another point to add. I did go and see the "Brueghel Dynasty" but Marielle and I had already seen a more important restrospective of the same in Como - Italy. This was  little disappointing after the previous experience.


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Michael Keane a dit…
Like his work. 51
17/10/13 10:29
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