-- Interview with Charles Chauderlot

                              by Roger Sorrentino

  "I was just a tourist when I came to China in July 1996, but I was totally overwhelmed by what I saw: its way of life, the picturesque hutongs and, most especially, its art. I knew I had to come back as soon as I could and stay a long time. I wanted to soak myself in this ancient civilization," said Charles Chauderlot, a prize winning, expatriate French artist from Bordeaux.

Apart from the Chinese art that had first whetted his appetite to come, one book delivered the coup de gr‰ce: Roger Pierrefitte'sWhen China Awakens, the World Will Tremble.

It took him seven months to do it, but Chauderlot wrapped up his affairs in France, returned in February 1997 and in September enrolled at Beijing Language and Cultural University, where he has begun to learn the Chinese language and try his hand at calligraphy, which he so admires.

In a short time, he began to make the acquaintance of many Chinese artists whose work he admired. He soon realized that their works would be very popular back home in France.

Chauderlot wrote to a gallery in Paris where he had previously exhibited and asked them if they were willing to sell the paintings of Chinese artists.

The gallery replied an emphatic yes, and Chauderlot was in business. So far, all 50 paintings he has shipped have been sold.

Charles was 7 when he began sketching scenes from his neighborhood. A few years later, his elementary school teacher picked up a drawing of his and said, "Charles, tell your father I want to see him as soon as possible."

When he relayed the message, his father responded, "How come the teacher wants to see me? What did you do?"

The next day, father and son went together to the school.

"Monsieur Chauderlot," she said, "your son has a real artistic talent. It would be shame -- no, a crime -- to let it go to waste."

Breathing a sigh of relief at this somewhat unexpected good news, his father asked, "What should I do?"

"I would like him to study at the Institute of Fine Arts here in Bordeaux," the teacher replied. "Even though the students there are older, I'm certain they'll accept him once they see his work."

So, in 1963, Charles Chauderlot began taking private lessons among students twice his age. He was all of 11 years old.

He continued his studies with an eminent professor of the school. He says that after six years, the professor, M. Faura, told him: "Charles, you've been a superb student. You've learned everything I have to teach. Now it is time for you to leave the nest, strike out on your own and develop your individuality."

The advice was both flattering and discomforting, Chauderlot said. Discomforting because he could no longer follow in someone else's path.

He had learned the technical aspects of art, but one thing remained: to develop his unique vision.

That he could do only by himself.

Apparently he did. His paintings have been collected by museums. he has had 10 personal exhibitions in galleries and is a silver medal holder. He was made a member of the prestigious Salon d'Hiver of Paris in 1996.

Despite these successes, the pictures of Chinese paintings continued to preoccupy him. Chauderlot felt sure there was something he could learn from China's 5,000-year-old culture.

Previously he had painted in oils using a wide spectrum of colors. But when he saw the subtlety and restraint of Chinese paintings and the simplicity of its calligraphy, he underwent an artistic conversion. He abandoned his varied palette of colors for the liner beauty of black and white drawings in India ink. Even his taste in the so-called Masters changed from the rich hues of Monet to the austere etchings of Rembrandt and Goya.

Upon seeing his drawings, some people at first think they are unfinished, because he sometimes leaves patches of white or black in them. He does this, he says, so the viewer can add a bit of himself to the picture.

Just as Chauderlot has enhanced his art by studying Chinese masters, he believes artists here have something to gain from the West. Instead of facile imitations of Western abstract expressionism, Chinese artists should paint landscapes not from memory but by taking their art tools outside and observing carefully.

He remembers how surprised artists were when they saw him sit down with his box of brushes and inks and work directly from nature.

If Chinese artists relied a little less on tradition and more on their own individual insight, he says, they would create greater art.

Two contemporary artists who have done so are Liu Haisu, a 50-year-old painter from South China whose works fuse the best of Chinese art with Western impressionism in a remarkable synthesis, and Shi Tao. He also admires the works of Rong Bao Zhai, a 17th century master.

Last month, Chauderlot was the subject of a 30-minute television documentary. Critics have praised his ability to suggest the brilliance of the sun and the luminosity of stones using black and white alone.

He spends five hours a day studying Chinese and looks for good artists whose works he can send to France, doing his own drawings, exploring antique markets and advising tourists and others on matters artistic.