亞洲現代與當代藝術 Modern and Contemporary Asian Art

THE ADVENTURE LEADS TO A RIVERSIDE,
A NEW SCENE WITHOUT BOUNDS.
WAITING TO MEET THE EASTERN WINDS,
SPRING IS ALWAYS IN THOUSANDS OF VIOLETS AND REDS.
- A Spring Day. (Song) Zhu Xi
BEYOND THE IMAGE
In the words of Wu Dayu, "To create a painting demands complete
sincerity. It's not something to get smart about or show off, since it
might take six years of schooling before you're able to even make a
single finished, agreeable painting." Such a philosophy of painting
was adopted as the main idea and standard of practice by Chu Teh-
Chun, one of the abstract artists in modern Chinese art. A lover
of Western classical music, Chu Teh-Chun would listen to it while
working as a way to ignite another side of himself. He would follow
the music's mild, 'yin and yang' transitions, drawing inspiration from
the depths, heights, and countless undulations, adding detail and
a sense of delicate, musical rhythm to his abstract paintings. With
the light strokes of Chu Teh-Chun's heavy brush, ink is gracefully
blended using both Chinese and Western techniques, theories,
and expressions. The brushstrokes rise and fall across the paintings
like a dancer, stepping, lunging, and leaping across a stage. There
is a clear sense of action on the canvas, with colours colliding and
interweaving as if shifting through every season at once. Together,
they give structure to the multitude of galaxies and landscapes
without end in the artist's imagination.
Having hiked mountains and walked rivers thousands of times
during his travels in different countries, what Chu Teh-Chun saw
and where he stepped he took to heart, later adapting those
colours into the bright forms of his work. One can see in Chu Teh-
Chun's abstract paintings how the artist had developed techniques
in calligraphy since his childhood. The artist's masterful infusion
of the spirit behind Chinese landscape painting with a natural and
flowing script gives the work a certain connection to ink painting.
While a thick brush sweeps through the majestic mountain ranges,
a fine brush flies with the electricity in the wind, and together they
cover the canvas in a captivating Eastern texture of colourful oils
and drunken inks that only Chu Teh-Chun could do. But beyond
the technical side of the work which would pose a challenge for
Western artists, even more difficult to replicate is the vibrant,
scenery-transcending energy of the paintings.
Chu Teh-Chun was a master of his craft, and he considered nature
to be the main fountainhead of his creative inspiration. The most
beautiful landscapes and gorgeous scenes he had seen would
transform before his eyes into nourishment – the winter snow,
summer rain, spring flowers, and autumn leaves that all made marks
on his art practice. Oxford University art critic Michael Sullivan,
who was previously a Tang dynasty literature critic, once described
the paintings and artistic wisdom of Chu Teh-Chun in the terms
of Sikong Tu as written in Quality of Grandeur in Poetry: 'Leap
beyond the external appearance to reach the centre of the circle'.
While originally describing the cathartic peak of a poem, it is also
extremely befitting of Chu Teh-Chun's beautiful paintings. Taking
a look at this 1995 "untitled" work, one can make out the artist's
passion for the techniques of Eastern calligraphy and his applied
knowledge of Western
colour palettes as they
are hidden throughout
the painting. Yet even
more recognisable is Chu
Teh-Chun's refinement
of ink painting skills such
as "heaviness, lightness,
dryness, waterlessness,
moistness, droughtiness,
smudginess" through the
vocabulary of Western
oil painting, adding
soft yet robust layers
of delicate yet bold
details. The endlessly
glimmering brilliance of
the colours leads viewers
into the artist's romantic
world, which is filled with
scenes that resonate with
audiences' memories of
nature, ever so gently
pulling them closer.
Northern Song Dynasty, Li Cheng, A Solitary Temple Amid Clearing Peaks, color on silk,
111.4 x 56cm, Collection of The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas, USA