The Christophe Fonseca-directed documentary on the Chinese master painter Chu Teh-chun delves deep into the artist’s singular style. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)
Known to be an innovator and groundbreaker of an artist, Jiangsu-born Chu Teh-chun (1920-2014) flies a little below the radar for many. Known as a lyrical abstractionist, Chu wove traditional Chinese painting and calligraphy with Western abstractionism to create his singular visual language.
Anyone looking for an introduction to Chu’s life and works should check out director Christophe Fonseca’s simply titled Chu Teh-chun, premiering as part of Art Basel Hong Kong’s films program on May 22 (with an additional screening at Le French May on June 2). ABHK’s films sector this year features 15 films by and about artists. Curated by Li Zhenhua, director and founder, Beijing Art Lab, the shows are free to watch.
Initially intended for release to mark what would have been Chu’s 100th birthday in 2020, the documentary explores Chu’s literary and artistic influences. Born into a family of academics and collectors, Chu studied at the Hangzhou Academy of Fine Arts, heading on to Taiwan and finally Paris, in 1955. The film traces how he learned to stitch Chinese traditions onto European abstract concepts after studying in Paris.
The Christophe Fonseca-directed documentary on the Chinese master painter Chu Teh-chun delves deep into the artist’s singular style. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)
The documentary was produced in collaboration with the Fondation Chu Teh-Chun. So its inherently approving and uncritical tone is unsurprising. Fonseca touches only briefly on Chu’s first marriage and the family he gave up to pursue his art, and never questions why he renewed ties with his home only in the 1980s. Similarly he only briefly refers to the Hangzhou art school’s exile in western China during the Sino-Japanese war, and that’s mostly with respect to how the shift of terrain kindled Chu’s keen interest in landscapes.
Such a laser focus makes Chu Teh-chun a nearly ideal entry into the artist’s singular style, and while it never quite reaches (or attempts) the reflective visualization of Loving Vincent, Fonseca does manage to incorporate the soft bleeds that define the naturalistic abstraction of Chu’s paintings into his portrait. Color frequently pops off the screen in deep primary tones in between talking heads contextualizing the artist, drawing a line between landscape abstractionist Nicolas de Stael, Dutch master Rembrandt, gongbi realist Qiu Ying and Chu. It’s essential viewing, both for Chu’s longtime boosters as well as newcomers to his particular brand of East-meets-West.
Co-presenter Alisan Fine Arts is exhibiting Chu’s works on paper through July 10.
If You Go
Chu Teh-chun
Directed by Christophe Fonseca
Date: May 22
Venue: Louis Koo Cinema, Hong Kong Arts Centre, 2 Harbour Road, Wan Chai, Hong Kong.
