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Lot  19 Ravenel Autumn Auction 2010 Hong Kong

Ravenel Autumn Auction 2010 Hong Kong

Réfléchit dans l'obscur

CHU Teh-chun (Chinese-French, 1920 - 2014)

1992

Oil on canvas

89 x 116 cm

Estimate

TWD 4,920,000-7,380,000

HKD 1,200,000-1,800,000

USD 160,000-240,000

Sold Price

TWD 5,076,923

HKD 1,320,000

USD 170,103


Signature

Signed lower right CHU TEH-CHUN in Chinese and English and dated 92

Titled on the reverse Réfléchit dans l'obscur in French, signed CHU TEH-CHUN in Chinese and English and dated 1992

+ OVERVIEW

Chu Teh-chun is an artist whose career has spanned two centuries, and whose work integrates the Western and Asian artistic traditions. With their rich and varied use of color, and their vigorous, expressive "calligraphic" utilization of line, Chu's paintings exude a sense of everlasting poetic space created by radiant light. Having undergone rigorous academic training as a young man, having benefited from the inspiration provided by the juxtaposition of his grounding in Chinese cultural traditions and exposure to Western culture, and having experimented constantly over a period of five decades, Chu Teh-chun has become a "living history of art," moving easily between Western and Chinese artistic traditions, and employing his unique artistic lexicon to achieve maximum freedom in the depiction of light, space, materials and color, creating a richly textured world of the senses.

Chu Teh-chun's work leverages his acute powers of observation to present the reality of existence. In his paintings, we can feel the flow of life; we can hear breathing and the murmur of water; we can feel a sense of boundless opening and a feeling of relaxed groundedness. Chu's emotionally rich paintings are like freeze frames from high-speed video footage; they embody both the "eternal instant" and the "instant eternal."

"Réfléchit dans l'obscur" is a fine example of the work that Chu Teh-chun was producing in the early 1990s. It is an extremely thought-provoking, detailed painting, with a beauty that inspires a feeling of joy in the viewer. The mist flowing over the mountain peaks and the play of light and shadow create a dreamlike effect. The dancing and leaping patches of orange, sky-blue and red combine to create a "symphony of life." This is the reflection of darkness; this is the source of life; this is the awesome power of life to overcome all fear and pain; this is the radiant light of the life-force.

Related Info

Modern & Contemporary Art

Ravenel Autumn Auction 2010 Hong Kong

Monday, November 29, 2010, 11:30am