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W&L Emeritus Professor's Art Decorates Florida Restaurant

Washington and Lee alumni of the 1970s or 1980s who happen to dine at the new Chinese restaurant open now in Cape Coral, Fla., may be familiar with the artwork that they see at Chen’s China Bistro. A feature story on the new restaurant in the North Fort Myers Neighbor spends almost as much time discussing W&L emeritus art professor I-Hsuing Ju’s Chinese brush paintings as the menu. Professor Ju taught art and was artist-in-residence at W&L from 1969 until his retirement in 1989. He and his wife, Chow-Soon,  established the Art Farm in Lexington in 1975 and he gave private lessons there. The newspaper piece quotes the restaurant’s owner, Jeff Chen, as saying that “I used the professor because there’s no type of art work like his in Lee County, and it is difficult to find artwork like this anywhere in the states. It’s real Chinese artwork.” When the restaurant had its grand opening, Professor Ju gave a demonstration of his brush painting techniques. According to the story, the Jus have wintered in North Fort Myers seasonally for the past five years, and Professor Ju is currently working on a 20-panel panorama of the Yellow Mountains of China. If you’re in Southwest Florida, stop by Chen’s China Bistro and send back a review — of the food and Professor Ju’s brush paintings.

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