"The subtle relationship between art and nature is fully explored here, in ways similar to traditional Chinese painting and calligraphy.… Thus each vase urges the beholder to make a circular journey—one with neither beginning nor end—through a land of plenty, rich in intersecting paths that encourage everyone to find his or her own way."
Vase, Serie "De neige, d'or et d'azur" N° 24 is one of 57 unique porcelain vases from Chu Teh-Chun’s important series entitled De Neige, d’Or et d’Azur (Of Snow, Gold, and Sky Blue), produced at La Manufacture de Sèvres in 2007 and 2008. This marks the first time that a work from this series has been offered at auction.
By collaborating with the Manufacture Nationale de Sèvres, Chu Teh-Chun wanted to honour the country that welcomed him since 1955. Executed during a mature period in the artist’s life, this series embraces the amalgamation of Western and Eastern cultures that influenced the artist. During the creative process, Chu Teh-Chun worked closely with Jean-Paul Desroches, an expert in Chinese ceramics and Chief Curator of the Chinese department of the Guimet Museum of Asian Art in Paris. Desroches provided Chu with the rare opportunity to explore the underground ceramics vaults of the museum, a reserve of thousands of items never viewed by the public. Chu explored the long tradition of Chinese porcelain, particularly those from the Tang (7th-10th century) and Yuan (13th-14th century) periods.
The vase invites the viewer to circumambulate, embarking on a journey with no beginning or end. Chu Teh-Chun experimented with various shapes of dishes before finding a large potbelly vase (No. 24, designed by Emile Decoeur between 1939-1948) that suited his creative expression. He continued to hone his approach and finally arrived at the ideal shape in SR 22, which boasted a strong shoulder and short neck. The prototype recalled the eminent vases of the Yuan period (13th-14th century) in China. These SR 22 vases were subsequently delivered to the artist in batches of five to eight every two months, a pace that aligned with the artist’s creative outflow.
In the present work, the artist employs the iconic bleu de Sèvres (Sèvres blue), a sky-blue tone based on an ancient Chinese formula imported into France during the 16th century. Since its establishment in 1740, La Manufacture de Sèvres invented its own, secret formula for this particular hue. The snow-white porcelain of Sèvres serves as a pristine base that receives the blue tone well. After utilizing this dazzling blue, the artist highlights the vases with touches of pure gold paint, a color that was produced in very small quantities.
With the assistance of the Sèvres artisans, three hundred hours of work (including moulding, casting, enamelling, decorating, burnishing) were necessary to complete each porcelain. Each of the porcelains was first glazed to prepare the surface for Chu and then painted with colours that were successively hardened in a kiln. The artist learned guilding techniques, guided by Vincent Lapeyronie, a ceramicist who specializes in such work.
Only such an extraordinary collaboration between the legendary artist Chu Teh-Chun, the esteemed ceramic manufacturer La Manufacture de Sèvres, and the curator Desroches could integrate the robust traditions of two ancient cultures - the Chinese and the French – through the historical medium of ceramic, ultimately providing a fresh and innovative outlet for Chu Teh-Chun’s creative mastery.
“As with his canvases and ink drawings, here Chu’s idiom is richly abstract, based on a polyphony of meanings. Given this situation, the beholder is elevated to the role of interpreter – it is up to the beholder, depending on mood, to appreciate or recompose the suggestions offered by the artist. ...Every vase becomes its own microcosm, charged with meanings that shine forth like a faceted gem, sparking reflections and resonances. As an object of meditation, it triggers an enchantment as magical as it is ecstatic.”
「此作一如中國傳統書畫般，深入探討藝術與自然的微妙關係……因此，每個瓶都讓觀者展開一場無始亦無終的循環式旅程，途中穿過富饒的土地和交錯的路徑，鼓勵每個人去尋找屬於自己的路。」
《雪白・燦金・蔚藍系列第24號》出自一個共57件作品的重要系列，2007 及2008 年由法國賽佛爾國家瓷器廠製作。這次是此系列的作品首度在拍賣場亮相。
朱德群自 1955 年起旅居法國，爲了向這個一直歡迎他、包容他的國家致敬，他與法國賽佛爾國家瓷器廠合作，創作出這個系列。這些作品完成於朱德群的晚年，融合了對他啓發良多的東西方文化。在創作過程中，朱德群與中國瓷器專家、巴黎吉美博物館中國部首席策展人戴浩石緊密合作。巴黎吉美博物館地庫珍藏數千件從未被公開的珍品，戴浩石讓朱德群參觀這個寶庫，機會難能可貴。朱德群仔細觀察藏品，對當中唐元兩朝的瓷器研究尤深。
此瓶邀請觀者繞瓶而行，觀賞瓶身紋飾，開展一段循環不斷的探索之旅。朱德群在各種形狀的瓷器當中挑選了一個能夠讓他表現創作意念的鼓腹瓶（24 號，米爾·德科在1939-1948 年間設計）。此後，他繼續不斷實驗，最後認定頸短、寬肩的SR 22號瓶形狀最爲理想，而此器型正好與元代經典瓷瓶的形狀相近。這些 SR 22 號瓶隨後以每兩個月五至八件的速度分批送達朱德群手上，正好配合藝術家的創作節奏。
這件作品採用標誌性的 「塞佛爾藍」色調，色呈天藍，根據一種在 16 世紀傳入法國的中國古方調配而成。法國賽佛爾國家瓷器廠在 1740 年成立之後，再根據此色調發展出獨門秘密配方。該廠所製的瓷器地色雪白無暇，故此這種藍彩亦非常容易上色。除了這種耀眼的藍色之外，作品亦用上產量極少的純金彩。
在塞佛爾瓷廠藝匠的協助之下，每件瓷器製作一共需要三百小時，包括製模、成型、施釉、裝飾及打磨等工序。每件瓷器都預先上釉，供朱德群於器身創作，施上顔彩之後，依次入窯。爲了創作這組瓷器，朱德群更特別從陶藝家文森特·拉佩羅尼身上學習專門的陶瓷技巧。
藝術大師朱德群、馳名的塞佛爾瓷廠和傑出策展人戴浩石的無間合作，成就了這套瓷器，從中可見看中和法兩大深厚文化通過瓷器這種材質上交匯融合，從而為朱德群的藝術創作開創了一條新穎的道路。
「 就像他的油畫和水墨畫一樣，朱德群在這裡的藝術語彙非常抽象，建基於多重含義。在這種情況下，觀者的角色因而被提昇至詮釋者的地位——旁觀者因應心情去欣賞或重構藝術家提供的建議。 每個瓷瓶都成為它自身的縮影，滿載涵義，像一顆經過多面切割的寶石一樣閃亮，引起反思與共鳴。 作為沉思的對象，它能讓觀者深深入迷，像中了魔法那樣，同時滿載狂喜。」