Chu Teh-Chun (Zhu Dequn)

signed in pinyin and Chinese and dated 92; signed in pinyin and Chinese, titled and dated 1992 on the reverse

Private Asian Collection

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

Solo Exhibition of Chu Teh-Chun, The Ueno Royal Museum, Tokyo, p. 254, illustrated in colour

This painting is overall in good condition. There are some minor abrasions along the edges. There is no sign of restoration under UV light.
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Compared with the artist’s earlier work, the rendering of light and shade in Vers le soir is much more sophisticated. Aside from the strong color contrast that is typical to his art, Chu delicately assembles a spectrum that conveys subtle gradations of light and dark. With a horizontal emphasis of brown emanating from the center, Chu deftly blends Royal blue into the edges of a darkened background, as if depicting a mysterious night of awakening. With broad and uninhibited brush strokes, Chu manages to create an original power that has been nurtured through time. Out of the silence, a long breach falls, releasing a vertical shaft of light; formless but powerful, accentuated with blue, green and yellow weightless dots. Here, Chu composes a composition of an imaginary dawn that embodies the circulation of the universe, vividly exemplifying darkness and illumination, as well as tranquility and chaos.