CHU TEH-CHUN (ZHU DEQUN, 1920-2014)

In Untitled, Chu works within a Western abstract framework yet calls forth the confident, natural brushwork of the East, becoming one with the scene and with nature in this encounter with moonlight and flowing water. The feeling recalls Van Gogh, lingering along the banks of the Rhône as the moon and stars fill the sky, while a thousand dwellings cast their lights upon the river's surface. Chu Teh-Chun likewise draws his abstract from nature, a refreshing shade in which each of his brushstrokes shows subtle variations in tone while emanating a unique luster and depth of colour. By contrast with Van Gogh's short, fragmented lines, Chu's brushwork resembles the cursive calligraphy he practiced for so many years, where thick and full-bodied strokes mix pleasingly with the light and lithe movement of finer strokes, perfectly conveying the play of light in this scene. Even as he employs Western painting techniques, Chu evokes a cultural ambience that is essentially Chinese, achieving in the oil medium the same freedom and abandon as Chinese splashed-ink landscapes. Chu's brushstrokes accumulate, develop, and unfold on the canvas, growing into a unified, uninterrupted landscape of harmonious energy.