On view will be a group of “exceptional and pivotal paintings” never before seen by the public, dating from the early 1970’s, as well as a “rare calligraphy series”.

In exhibiting this group of works FEAST Projects shares with the public a rare insight into the development of the artist. The paintings on view are especially significant in Chu’s history as they mark the beginning of his maturity as an artist, as well as the invention of his aesthetic language. The strong, well-defined lines, often present in his earlier works, disappear into expansive fields of colors and expressive brush strokes. These paintings reveal the developmental process of Chu’s own techniques and devices. The viewer witnesses Chu’s deep connection to his Song dynasty forefathers: like them he is in awe of nature, but he goes beyond the traditional limits of pictorial expression, extending it from the infinitely large to the infinitesimally small. This instills in his paintings the heightened sense of drama, which thereafter becomes the hallmark of his oeuvre.

Chu Teh-Chun, born in 1920, belongs to the second generation of Chinese painters who went to Paris, and he is recognized as one of the few modern Chinese Masters. Recently his paintings, calligraphies and ceramics have been exhibited at the Guimet Museum, Paris (Summer 2009), National Art Museum of China, NAMOC, Beijing (03/2010), Hong Kong University Art Gallery (04-06/2010) and Macau Museum of Art, MAM (07-08/2010). Following in the footsteps of Lin Fengmian, his professor at the Hangzhou Academy, Chu Teh-Chun arrives in France in 1955. His work at that time, like many of his Chinese Contemporaries, is essentially figurative. His exposure in Paris to the works of painters, such as Nicolas de Staël and Rembrandt, jump-starts his process of self-realization. Chu starts producing abstract paintings where forms and shapes reveal his nature and intentions. The paintings that follow oscillate between suggestions of reality in landscape and compositions paying homage to eastern and western masters. The French poet and art critic, Jean-François Chabrun defines him as a “2Oth Century Painter of the Song dynasty”.

In the early 1970’s, even though he is gaining recognition and beginning to exhibit abroad, Chu Teh-Chun continues to struggle materially. He often retreats to his studio striving to perfect his vision. This process produces a series of oil paintings on paper. These works are truly exceptional because they announce the future developments in Chu Teh-Chun’s oeuvre, as well as demonstrate Chu’s special place in the history of modern art. Though Chu leaves China for France, he never abandons his Chinese culture and roots: This is exemplified in his daily practice of calligraphy. In Europe he finds not only inspiration from another tradition, but also the strength and liberty to transform and modernize the spiritual energy of Chinese painting. At the heart of this transformative awakening is Chu’s calligraphy.

In exhibiting side by side these calligraphies, which were written on the same day, FEAST Projects opens a new window into Chu’s daily creative process. Calligraphy is practiced to encourage a better integration and expression of the artist’s body and mind; The aspiration of the practice is to sharpen one’s natural gifts. Chinese culture, contrary to western, does not separate the improving of body and mind into separate disciplines, but rather insists on their being indistinct, and both are essential to attaining the ‘ideal’. Chu Teh-Chun never enumerates this approach, but maintains a daily practice of calligraphy in the cursive, Caoshu style (considered one of the highest forms of calligraphy). He holds great calligraphers of the past, such as Wong Zhi (5th century), the monk Huaisu, or Zhang Xiu (8th century) in admiration. His concern is not to pay tribute to his culture, but rather to celebrate harmony and self-realization. This approach based in seeking equilibrium and self-expression through practice and repetition is similar to that of many Modern western artists who produced dif- ferent versions of the same theme (Picasso: the harlequin; Matisse: the reclining nude; Monet: the water lilies). Historically, however, the various versions of a classical calligraphy were often lost, making their simultaneous viewing nearly impossible.

This opportunity of discovering Chu’s works side by side is exceptional, and affords the viewer a direct experience of his actual creative process.