It was in 1956 that Chu Teh-chun began to try his hand at abstract painting, melding his great skill and cultivation in Chinese calligraphy with the uninhibited impetuousness of Western abstract art. Chu's transition from objective representation to abstract composition took place in a very short period of time. By the 1960s, Chu had firmly established his position as an artist in Paris, a man in his best years who was rapidly approaching the acme of his creative career. Chu-tsing Li, Professor Emeritus at the Fine Arts Dept. of the University of Kansas, described Chu Teh-chun's work of the 1960s in the following way: "At that time most of his paintings consisted of monochromatic backgrounds with borders that were painted using wet, rapidly done brush strokes that moved in different directions. Sometimes they look like colored clouds, other times like water flowing in mountain cataracts, and then again like boulders amid wide open spaces. Among these apparitions he added very fine brush strokes using various and lively line work, along with vivid points of color that activated the picture plane, possibly reflecting the influence of de Stael. His strongest influences, however, were derived from Chinese landscape painting technique and calligraphy. Every aspect of Chu's painting retained very personal characteristics, and today he still maintains a strongly individualistic style."(cf. Chu-tsing Li, 'The Abstract World of Chu Teh-chun', Exhibition of Chu Teh-chun's Recent Works 1985-1996, Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Nov. 1997, p. 26)

This lot from 1967, "No. 283" is a representative work of that time, showing placid yet profound colors liberally applied with a firm brush that exerts an unbridled energy and strength. Intersecting lines create an urgent sense of vitality that has all the irresistible momentum of a mellow, melodious symphonic poem. Through the delicately sublimated rhythms of nature we can also discover the artist's fiery enthusiasm and deep emotion, truly making this one of his most valuable early oil paintings.