Having developed his effervescent abstractions since the 1960s, Chu Teh–chun reached a new level of artistic freedom with his stunningly serene explorations of form and color in the 1990s. Continually seeking new means for merging the diametrically opposed influences of Chinese traditional painting with Western modern abstract expressionist movements, Chu Teh–chun found harmony in exploring the aesthetic ideals of both abstraction and Chinese calligraphy. “The concept is quite similar,” states Chu, “Format is not required but rather similarity…the aesthetic factors are what the artist of abstraction is looking for, i.e. lines, colors, and compositions.” Chu Teh–chun’s paintings from this period exhibit a refined balance in the various weights of brushstrokes and elegance of color palette, which serve to elevate the striking harmony inherent in his work.

“Puissance Soudain” exhibits this sophistication of composition honed by Chu Teh–chun over decades of abstract exploration. With ethereal sweeping strokes of white juxtaposed with opaque forms of darkened hues, the artist has created a sense of depth which recalls the construction of landscape within this composition. Pools of molten golden light emanate vibrantly from the darkened depths of the shadowed expanse, with resplendent colors refracted across the spectrum of illumination. The creation of such a rich landscape from abstract forms originates from Chu Teh–chun’s amalgamation of Western abstraction with the spirit and intention of traditional Chinese landscapes. As the artist himself explains, “The landscape portrayed in Chinese paintings is no longer merely the landscape portrayed in reality; the distance between the actuality and the imagination is the realm of the abstraction.” The lot presented here embodies this sense of reaching beyond accepted forms in presenting a standard conception of a landscape, and expanding the aesthetic lexicon with which an artist constructs a scene which is at once idealistic and universal.