Equinox 2007

Chu Teh-Chun made this beautiful painting, Equinox, with what looks like oil on canvas, and it’s like a landscape seen through a rain-streaked window. The colors are really juicy and intense, like the moment right after a storm when everything just pops. There’s this great tension between the dark, almost black areas and these bursts of yellows and reds that pull you in, like fireworks in the night sky. The paint handling looks kind of loose and free, but then you notice these delicate, almost calligraphic lines cutting through the blurry atmosphere. I love how the artist lets the paint do its thing; it’s not trying to trick you into thinking it’s something else, it’s just paint being itself. I'm reminded of Joan Mitchell and her dynamic compositions. It's like Chu Teh-Chun is saying, “Here’s a painting, take it or leave it, but either way, it’s not going to tell you exactly what to think."