Chu Teh-Chun (Zhu Dequn)

Christie's, Hong Kong, 27 November 2005, lot 223
Important Private Asian Collection

Tokyo, The Ueno Royal Museum, Solo Exhibition of Chu Teh-Chun, 23 June - 10 July, 2007

Impressions Classics IX: Chu Teh-chun, Impressions Art Gallery, Taipei, 2005, plate 022, p. 46
Solo Exhibition of Chu Teh-Chun, Thin Chang Corporation, Taipei, 2007, p. 208

This work is overall in good condition, except for signs of accretion on the lower right of the work.
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Source of Light (Lot 1013) was completed in 1988, over thirty years since Chu Teh-Chun had left Asia for France. It was there that he undertook thirty years of study into Western art and society, eventually mastering the nuances of Chinese and Western culture alike. Chu worked hard to cultivate and alter his style in accordance with his own culture. Moreover, he blended his inner spirit into the lyrical abstraction that he was creating, thereby transcending regional ideologies and attaining international recognition. This present work undoubtedly presents a space rooted in Chu’s own individuality, one that is tightly linked with nature and mutation.  The work perfectly displays the sources of light, shapes and rhythm that Chu has strived to achieve.  

The source of Chu’s lyrical abstraction lies in his depictions of nature and light. Apart from his snow landscape series, Chu’s most penetrating analysis of the natural, light is also one of his central themes. Chu has stated that his use of light has been heavily impacted by Rembrandt’s style. In fact, his works from the 1970s share a similar motif which has clearly been influenced by Rembrandt – namely their handling of colour, light and shade. After many decades of refining this creative process and sublimating his inner spirit, Source of Light represents Chu’s discovery of the origin of his own inner light; this light emanated not from the West, but from Chu’s innermost being, a realm of complete harmony, imbued with power and benignity alike. Layers of black build up at the bottom of the painting; the light sources converge and emit in the upper part, and interspersed amongst these elements are blocks and dots of colour. In fact, the blocks of colour used here are quite unlike those used previously, ostentatiously inlaid into the works like gem stones. The ‘gemstones’ in this piece, calm and understated, naturally dart around in Chu’s cosmic world, expressing a sense of harmony – a completely balanced artistic mood, as opposed to a world of antagonism.