White snow falls from the sky – small yet infinite – surrounding the scene. Objects become blurred as if in a dream. Some float, some stretch to the skies so as to paint an ethereal mountain immersed in clouds and flowing with surging rivers. Light and the shadow play with natural colors, dancing in an intoxicating yet enchanting rhythm.

In this 1985 work “Hiver I”, Chu employed an impromptu approach, with his brush following wherever inspiration might lead it. The dark blue lines and patterns, executed in unrestrained, “flying” brushstrokes, and the sprinkles of white snowflakes dabbed across the composition, are all typical for Chu's trademark style, natural and smooth like moving clouds and flowing water. Meanwhile, the picture breathes a freedom of spirit through which we may well discern the atmosphere of winter in Europe. Yet this is also where Chu adds his own ingenious touch, for he subtly brightens the often dark and harsh mood of a lonely winter landscape in northern regions with small dabs of yellow and red, thus adding a more vigorous flair to the predominantly white and blue palette. Tang poet Cen Shen wrote, “It is as if suddenly one night a spring wind would rise, and scatter the blossoms from thousands and thousands of pear trees”, using a springtime image as a metaphor for the beauty of the earth covered under a thick layer of snow. In “Hiver I”, Chu does something very similar when he employs unique shades of color and gently undulating lines to create a litheness and rhythmic harmony that makes the observer acutely aware of the stunning beauty that is a winter landscape.