The wave of abstract expressionism in 1950s Paris ignited a passion in the artist that led him down the path of abstract painting. At a visit to a retrospective on Nicolas de Staël at the Paris Museum of Modern art in 1956, he was swept up by the passionate imagery and released from the fetters of figurative art. Soon after, he began his own experiments with abstract creation.

In 1960, Chu Teh-chun was invited to participate in the Ecole de Paris Exhibition with an oil painting marked by Chinese conceptual imagery, cementing his reputation in the Paris art scene. The painting, with its strong, calligraphic line structure and rich sense of movement, was well received by Western art critics. French poet Hubert Juin was Chu's first ardent critical supporter. He writes: "A native of Jiangsu Province steeped in the arts of Hangzhou, this member of the phenomenon that is the Ecole de Paris has eschewed the figurative arts, rediscovering (perhaps inventing) an emergent style based on the written form. We know that he was heavily influenced by Fauvism at first, but he quickly found his own syntax and personal style, presenting us with a powerful and vibrant imagery." (Natif de la province de Kiang-Sou, étudiant aux beaux arts de Hang-Tchéou, membre de plein droit de ce fantasme qu'est l'Ecole de Paris, vite dédaigneux de la voie figurative, Chu Teh-chun redécouvre [inventant ce qui est] les qualitiés d'écriture qui sont nécessaires au surgissement. Le fauvism le requite un moment. L'envie qu'il avait [le souci] d'explorer l'espace lui permit sans trop attendre de se créer un vocabulaire et une syntaxe personnele.)