朱德群Chu Teh-Chun｜书法艺术与抽象艺术共行Parallels:Calligraphy and Abstractism
Skimming over the surface (1990) by Chu Teh-Chun. Oil on canvas 97×130×1 cm.
About the artist
关于艺术家
艺术家朱德群
Chu Teh-Chun is a Chinese-French abstract painter known for pairing traditional Chinese painting techniques with Western abstract art. Alongside his friends Wu Guanzhong, and Zao Wou-ki, who were collectively known as the “Three Musketeers” of Chinese Modernist Art, he influenced and developed many of the art practices during their time. Starting from figurative painting, Chu would move to Taipei to teach at the National University and then Paris. During this time he would move away from figurative painting completely after coming across the abstract works of artist Nicalos de Stäel.
朱德群（Chu Teh-Chun）是一位法籍华裔的抽象画家，以将中国传统绘画技术与西方抽象艺术相结合而闻名。他与好友吴冠中和赵无极一起被誉为中国现代主义艺术的“三剑客”，他们在当时影响并启发了许多艺术活动。从具象绘画阶段开始，朱先生便移居台北，在国立大学任教，之后在巴黎任教。这段时间里，他与艺术家Nicalos de Stäel的抽象作品相遇，此后便完全从具象作品的创作中抽离。
Village in a Red Rain (1960) by Chu Teh-Chun. Lithograph in colors on BFK Rives wove.
Composition XV (2014) by Chu Teh-Chun. Lithography 78×118 cm. Edition of 150 + 10AP.
F25 (2005) by Chu Teh-Chun. Ceramic vase 56×38×10 cm. Edition 3/8.
Chu Teh-Chun’s works at first glance present traces of western art, but a closer look unveils a far more meaningful piece that implements aspects of poetry, calligraphy as those seen in the Northern Song Dynasty Chinese Paintings. These were all things that Chu picked up from his life, studying the collection of art and poetry his family had accrued as well as going on to study calligraphy with Chinese painter Pan Tianshou, a master of ink.
初次接触朱德群的作品时会发现西方艺术的痕迹，但仔细观察便会发现其中更有意义的部分，这部分展现了北宋中国画中所体现的诗歌和书法。这些都是朱先生从他的生活中汲取的元素，他研究家人收藏的艺术和诗歌，并师从一位书画名家，向中国画家潘天寿学习书法。
artwork by Pan Tianshou
潘天寿的艺术作品
Chu heavily studied and perfected his mastery of caoshu, a form of calligraphy where the brushstroke is continuous and linked in abstract abbreviations and dots. The technique can be seen as a more free type of cursive writing that is not bound by rules, allowing for different sizes and spacing within the spontaneous brush strokes which Chu associated with the ideas of abstract expressionism that he saw from the West.
朱先生认真学习掌握草书，草书是一种连续不断的笔触，用抽象的简写和点相连。这种技法可以看作是不受规则限制的，一般是一种更为自由的类型，它允许不同的大小和间距，可以自发地下笔书写，朱先生正是因此把草书与自己从西方吸收到的抽象表现主义联系起来。
舒暢 (1998) by Chu Teh-Chun. Oil color, Paper 80×60 cm. Edition of 180.
Saison Bleue (1969) by Chu Teh-Chun. Color lithograph on Rives paper 41×30.5 cm. Edition of 99.
Ton orangé (1991) by Chu Teh-Chun. Oil on canvas 54×65 cm.
In fact, Chu Teh-Chun’s works share the ideology of both abstract expressionism and traditional Chinese painting through spontaneous brushstrokes that are akin to calligraphic brush strokes, mixing aspects of water shading, metaphorical landscapes, geometrical lines, and vibrant colors in motion such as those seen in the works of action painter Willem de Kooning and Jackson Pollock who drew influences from Eastern calligraphy and art. Chu describes his process in a rather poetic way stating:
事实上，朱德群的作品兼具抽象表现主义和中国传统绘画的理念，他将书法中的自发性笔触混合水墨，隐喻景观，几何线条还有充满活力的色彩。这种色彩正是那些受到东方书法艺术与东方艺术作品影响的抽象表现主义画家如威廉·德·库宁（Willem de Kooning）和杰克逊·波洛克（Jackson Pollock）的作品中曾经出现过的。朱先生用一种颇具诗意的方式描述了这个过程，他说：
“The artist absorbs what he sees in nature and refines it in his mind, and it is the power of the artist’s imagination, his sensibility, and his inner character that are revealed on the canvas. This is where the concepts behind Chinese painting and abstract painting very neatly come together.”
“艺术家吸收了他在自然界中感受到的东西，并在脑海中对其进行了完善，画布上所展现的正是艺术家的想象力，敏感性和内在性格的力量。这就是中国绘画背后的理念与抽象画巧妙融合在一起的地方。”
– Chu Teh-Chun 朱德群
Composition No. 65 (1960) by Chu Teh-Chun. Oil on canvas 145.4x89.2 cm.
The work Composition No. 65 (1960) is one of the works from Chu’s highest points as an artist in which he made the shift to abstract art. This painting sits vertically and showcases a fury of brush strokes which draws from the theory of the “Five Categories of Ink” which are Thickness, Thinness, Dryness, Wetness, and Black. By doing so he renders the black spaces and colors into a technically diverse composition that borrows from the scroll paintings of classical Chinese art while also using oil paints as a medium which in effect redefines a western-style of expression.
作品《65号》（No. 65）（1960年）是朱先生转向抽象艺术之后成就最高的作品之一。这幅画是垂直构图的，笔触浓烈，这取自“墨的五类”理论，即厚度，稀薄度，干燥度，湿润度和黑色深度。以此他将黑色的空间和色彩渲染成充满技巧的多样化构图，该构图借鉴了中国画传统卷轴的艺术，同时还使用油画颜料作为媒介，重新定义了西式的表达方式。
Eclat Passager (2007) by Chu Teh-Chun. Oil on canvas 80.8x100 cm.
Untitled (2007) by Chu Teh-Chun. Oil on canvas 99.8x80.5 cm.
“His bold lines are like downpours, while his thin ones are like whispers.”
“这些粗的线条就像倾盆大雨，而这些细丝宛如细声耳语。”
– Wu Guanzhong 吴冠中
A-Li Mountain (1954) by Chu Teh-Chun. Oil on canvas 65×54 cm.
Another key influence of the artist’s work is his fondness for Chinese poetry and the connection he had to his homeland. As an educator and poet, he was a connoisseur of verses from ancient Chinese poetry which he would implement into his works. Chu’s poetic calligraphy often handled themes of isolation, exile, and a need for a connection from ancient poets throughout China’s history.
另外一个对这位艺术家的作品产生影响的关键因素是他对中国诗歌的热爱以及与故土的联系。作为一名教育家和诗人，他是中国古代诗歌的鉴赏家，将诗歌运用到自己的作品中。朱先生的诗歌书法常常涉及孤立，流放以及与中国历史上的古代诗人产生联系的主题。
Su Dongpo La Falaise Rouge 蘇東坡赤壁懷古 (1994) by Chu Teh-Chun. Ink on paper 121x80 cm.
Niannu Jiao (Reminiscing about antiquity at Red Cliff) (1992) by Chu Teh-Chun. Ink on paper 66x68.5 cm.
La Lune (1998) by Chu Teh-Chun. Ink on paper 40x122.3 cm.
He found that it was inevitable that western art critics saw the inspiration of poetry and China’s landscapes on his abstract compositions, further going on to state his belief that poetry and painting follow the same rules and rhythms. In La Lune (1998), he inscribed the 11th century Northern Song dynasty poet Su Dongpo’s poem which details the poet’s longing for his family during a night of drinking during the Moon Festival, asking the moon to illuminate the corners of the world so that he might be able to see his family from afar.
他发现，西方艺术评论家不可避免地在他的抽象画作品中看到了诗歌的灵性和中国的风景，这进一步阐明了他关于诗歌和绘画遵循相同规则和节奏的理念。在作品《月》（La Lune）（1998）中，他题写了11世纪北宋诗人苏东坡的诗，其中详述了诗人在中秋之夜饮酒时对家人的思念，试图请求月亮照亮世界的各个角落，以便他可以从远方看见他的家人。
Jeux Olympiques de Barcelone 1992 (1992) by Chu Teh-Chun. Lithograph 63×90 cm. Edition of 250.
Chu Teh Chun would pass away in 2013, Paris, the last of the “Three Musketeers” to leave this world, leaving behind a legacy of more than 300 works under his name for contemporary artists to look towards. With his intimate understanding of poetry and landscapes, Chu Teh Chun’s emotional strokes and sense of spirituality that illuminates his poetic works is a strong indicator of confidence for the future pioneers of both Chinese and western artists today.
朱德群于2013年在巴黎去世，他是“三剑客”中最后一个离开这个世界的。他的名下留存了300余件遗作，供当代艺术家们学习欣赏。朱德群充满情感的笔触和他对灵感的理解使他的作品充满诗意，熠熠生辉，这对后来的先驱者们，不管是来自东方还是西方的艺术家，都指引了一种坚定的信心。
Translation 翻译 Rona Xia
FOR MORE RELATED CONTENT