No. 111 displays the artist’s meticulous artistry with its elaborate details filling the composition mapped across the entire canvas. With the artist’s dexterous mastery of the contrasts between light and dark, the work fully conveys the poetic essence of traditional Chinese ink painting. The unbridled, broad brushstrokes roam in the background, while the foreground is enriched with colours, embodying the height of pastoral beauty. This work displays the artist’s earlier signature style, demonstrating his mastery of combining the East and West aesthetics senses.

The ochre pigment dominates the majority of the composition, while the artist’s use of calligraphic lines in black injects a vibrant energy across the work. The mélange of peacock blue blocks set against burgundy swaths create a deep and alluring visual feast, resembling rubicund clouds resting above a valley, shining with dim blue lights. Such rendering gives us a sense of extraordinary beauty.

Created in 1997, Hong Kong No 25 captures a dancing movement, with the use of intense lines in black pushed to the fore. In this precious work, the artist combines the warm and delightful tone of colours, creating vibrancy and synergy in the work. In this piece, one can imagine Chu Teh-Chun in his late seventies, capturing with his never-waning artistic energy, the moment of celebration at the 1997 handover of Hong Kong from British to Chinese rule, and recording the unforgettable firework display of the historical event.