1978
Oil on Canvas
100.5 x 81 cm
Signed Chu Teh-Chun in Chinese and English Signed on the reverse: Titled in French and signed Chu Teh-Chun in English and Chinese
Estimate TWD 14,000,000-20,000,000
USD 500,000-714,300
HKD 0-0
Hammer Price TWD 18,000,000
USD 647,948
HKD 5,142,857
Provenance：
Illustrated：
Exhibition：
Exposition：We thank the Chu Teh Chun Foundation for confirming the work is listed in their archives. A certificate may be delivered at the expense and at the request of the successful bidder.
Renowned artist Chu Teh-Chun was the first Chinese member of Académie des Beaux-Arts, together with artist Wu Guanzhong and Zao Wou-Ki, they were named the “Three Musketeers” of Modernist Chinese painters trained in France.
In 1969, after seeing Rembrandt’s work at the Rembrandthuis Museum in Netherlands, Chu Teh-Chun was inspired to further his journey of abstraction by focusing on light. His later works from the 1970 onwards increasingly explores dramatic effect of light and shadow, creating a highly theatrical composition lit with spiritual glow or radiance. Rembrandt used an Italian painting technique known as “Chiaroscuro” to bring his subjects alive. The strong contrast of light and shadows achieve an impression of depth and mystery. In the painting, Le 23.9.1978, Chu Teh-Chun precisely captures the characteristics of the Dutch Golden Age painter, by using light to narrate a lyrical and poetic stage effect. This luminosity gave Chu’s works a “cosmic harmony” linked with nature and the unceasing flux of the worlds.
Former French Minister of Culture, Jacques Lang believes that the work of Chu Teh-Chun conveys a sense of emptiness and isolation, as if he is the last person in this world. Chu Teh-Chun often listens to symphony while he paints, he would describe the painting process as “listening to the nature of universe.” He renders music’s harmony and rhythm into his art, with bold expressive brushstrokes creates vivid yet delicate compositions, the robust artistic style demands the viewers’ attention to explore beyond the sublime.
Artist Chu Teh-Chun’s view of the universe is not limited to the East or West. In Le 23.9.1978, vibrant alluring shades of red are placed against an intense dark background resembling burning flames on a profoundly dark night. The stark contrast between colors, light and shadows, harmony and juxtaposition all supports the artist’s belief in Daoism. The book I-Ching, explains yin and yang as two infinitely changing elements, yet the duality produces an infinite universe also known as Tao. The artist gave new expression to the dual forces of yin and yang, by blending Chinese philosophy with Western European colors and free forms in shaping his inimitable abstract world.
Within the bright vibrant colors, Chu creates a unique space by harnessing the techniques of traditional Chinese ink. The vigorous and confident calligraphy strokes embody the spirits of the old master calligraphers Ou, Yan, Liu and Zao. As a child, Chu Teh-Chun would often practice calligraphy by imitating old scriptures and writing. This training enables him to grasp the essence of Chinese ink, not only did he mastered the fluidity of writing cursive and strength in block prints; he also learned control in pigment’s fairness and intensity. In order to reveal the full splendor of calligraphy, Chu utilizes various calligraphy techniques such as layering, dry and wet brush in the form of oil paintings. Raoul-Jean Moulin, former President of the International Association of Art Critics gave high praises to his innovation, “Chu plays knowingly with the rich colours of western painting and the sensuous brilliance of its subject matter, mastering its technique mainly though his experience of Chinese tradition, according to which the act of painting and the act of writing emanate from the same poetic impulse”
Artist Wu Guanzhong once described Chu Teh Chun’s rhythmus and poetic painting as “Like pelting rain, the bass strings give a deep and raucous timbre, like a whisper, the treble strings spring a light and gentle tone.” Rendered by spontaneous and rapid brushstrokes, Le 23.9.1978 is an exemplification of lyrical abstraction. The non-figurative painting reveals a mysterious and magnificent cosmic universe ignited by the union of the East and West.
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