Taipei, National Palace Museum
London, Tate museum
In 1955, Chu Teh-Chun traveled to France, where he was engulfed by the post-war artistic movements, including Nicolas de Staël's work, which Chu saw in a retrospective of the French artist. After that, Chu determined to stop figurative paintings, and start creating abstract works. Since his youth, Chu Teh-Chun had an in depth understanding of Chinese traditional art, he especially was fond of the works of Fan Kuan, a landscape painting master from the Song Dynasty. He decided to combine the unique artistic language of both Western and Eastern art masters, to create his own unique abstract art style. With composition that recalls the towering mountain from Song landscape scrolls, and interlacing colour blocks and strokes that reflect the artist's Western abstract art inspiration, No. 213 is the perfect representation of Chu Teh-Chun’s unique style in the 1960s.
With this newfound abstract art language, Chu began getting recognition in the European art scene. Within 6 years of his arrival in France, he was invited to participate in the Salon de Mai exhibition in 1961. He subsequently took part in many important exhibitions in Europe and America during the 1960s. Created in 1965, No. 213 witnessed the pivotal moment of the artist’s aesthetic and career development. Debuting in auction for the first time, the current lot is a rare opportunity to acquire representative work from the artist’s early oeuvre.
No. 213 was exhibited in Shanghai Art Museum's Exposition des oeuvres récentes de Chu Teh Chun in 2005, and Tokyo, The Ueno Royal Museum's Solo Exhibition of Chu Teh-Chun in 2007, as an iconic representation of the artist's oeuvre from the 1960s. It is extensively published in Liao Chiung-Fang's Overseas Chinese Fine Arts Series II: Chu Teh-Chun in 1999, Pierre Cabanne's Chu Teh-Chun in 2000, Galerie Enrico Navarra's Chu Teh-Chun in 2000, and Pan Fan's Chu Teh-Chun: Richness and Vibrancy in 2011, indicating it's academic importance.
Exhibition and Literature records
台北故宮博物院，台北
泰特美術館，倫敦
朱德群於一九五五年赴法國深造，在此，他縱觀歐洲戰後現代藝術大師的作品，其中包括一九五六年朱德群在巴黎所見的斯塔埃爾的回顧展覽；朱德群看完此展後備受啟發，自此決定捨棄具象創作，開啟抽象藝術創作。與此同時，朱德群自幼對中國傳統藝術耳濡目染，並尤推崇宋代山水名家范寬的作品，因此他決定涉取東西藝術大師藝術語言特色，以此開拓自身獨特的抽象藝術風格。《213號構圖》畫面宛若有群山聳立，呼應宋代山水立軸中壯闊構圖，而畫面中交錯的色塊、線條則折射出藝術家所受西方抽象藝術的影響，是朱德群一九六〇年代作品風格的完美詮釋。
以此獨特的抽象藝術語言，朱德群一九六〇年代在歐洲畫壇斬頭露角。在到達法國後短短六年間，便已於一九六一年受邀參與巴黎「五月沙龍」展覽，更在此後於歐美參展多個重要展覽，是藝術家以現代華人藝術家奠定國際地位的重要時期。《213號構圖》創作於此重要時期，是見證藝術家美學及事業發展關鍵時期的重要作品，如今本作首現拍場，是不可多得的含有機遇。
Exhibition and Literature records
本作曾在二〇〇五年展出於上海美術館〈朱德群近作展〉，及二〇〇七年展出於日本東京上野之森美術館〈大象無形－朱德群展〉，以藝術家六〇年代經典作品之一呈現於朱德群重要展覽中。《213號構圖》更是著錄於一九九九年出版廖瓊芳編著〈華裔美術選集II：朱德群〉、二〇〇〇年皮埃爾・卡班納編著〈朱德群〉、同年Enrico Navarra 畫廊出版〈朱德群〉及二〇一一年出版之〈朱德群：渾厚．燦爛〉，由此可見《213號構圖》極具收藏及學術價值。