Chu Teh-Chun

A mid-century émigré to France, Chu Teh-Chun left an important mark on abstract painting and Chinese art with his synthesis of the two traditions. A student of Lin Fengmian, Chu studied traditional Chinese painting but was also exposed to Western art early in his life. After settling in Paris in the 1950s, he abandoned figuration, employing a gestural, abstract style that exhibits elements of Chinese calligraphy and landscape painting. Although his work demonstrates the stylistic freedom of mid-century movements such as art informel and abstract expressionism, Chu always retained the rigorous technical brushwork he learned as a student in mainland China.