Chu Teh-Chun
(1920-2014)
The abstract breath from the East
“My painting is a music of silence”
Why is it fascinating?
Chu Teh-Chun is a fusion of Chinese calligraphy and European lyrical abstraction. He has brought together two worlds in a single painting.
A gestural, luminous painting, inspired by nature, calligraphy, music and Chinese poetry.
He paints as one meditates, in slow but powerful movements, in subdued lights, in vibrations of the soul.
His paintings are interior landscapes without horizon but with storms of silence and bursts of light.
A very contemporary work
Chu is all about the Zen-futuristic aesthetic. We think of poetic science fiction visuals and atmospheric NFTs.
His brushes blow the wind, the night, the fire without ever naming them. It is the inner breath that each of us seeks to rediscover.
His works are suspended moments, a lesson in elegance and slowness in a world that moves too fast. A sensitive and contemplative abstraction.
Why is it presented here?
Because he was able to create a dialogue between the age-old traditions of Chinese ink and the freedoms of Western abstraction; his work embodies a synthesis between tradition and modernity, discipline and freedom.
Because it proves that abstract does not mean cold: a meditative, vibrant, deeply spiritual work.
Because Chu Teh-Chun, a friend of Soulages, Zao Wou-Ki, is one of the first Asian artists to achieve international recognition in the field of abstract art. Highly sought after in China as well as in Europe.
Where to see it?
- Pompidou Center, Paris
- Cernuschi Museum, Paris
- Chu Teh-Chun Foundation, Geneva
- National Art Museum of China, Beijing
- Taipei Museum of Modern Art
- Hong Kong Museum of Art
- Shanghai Art Museum