Bronze sculpture

23 x 23 x 15 cm. 9 x 9 x 5 7/8 in.（left）；26 x17 x14 cm. 10 1/4 x 6 3/4 x 5 1/2 in.（right）

Incised name in Chinese and Pinyin “ Juming ” and dated “78” on lower back（left）；incised name in Chinese and Pinyin “ Juming ” and dated “78” on lower back（right）
Provenance：Relatives of Mr. Gao Xinjiang,former Chief Editor of China Times Literary Supplement,Taiwan

Ju Ming
Ju Ming apprenticed to Yuyu Yang at the age of 30. Deeply impressed by Yang’s spiritual creative concepts,Ming learnt the thrifty principle of ‘removal’—to remove the redundant details and to only preserve the spirit within. After 5 to 6 years of sculpting lessons with Yang,Ju started to learn Taichi to build his physical strength. He began to absorb the true essence of Taichi,which were then incorporated into his works.
Ju Ming held his first solo exhibition in 1976 at the National Museum of History in Taipei,featuring a sculpture named Kung Fu. It became an instant success. Following in 1977 and 1978,he held solo exhibitions at the Tokyo Central Museum presenting his Taichi Series,which won the attention of many. Among the many pieces,Taichi Series-Single Whip was brought into the collection of the Hakone Open Air Museum in Japan.
Taichi practice originated from the Chinese philosophy of ‘Yin’ and ‘Yang’ balance in the natural world. It stresses on the dynamic duality elements of active yet passive,forceful yet yielding,the reflecting and absorbing movements of the opposite forces. Initially,he displayed the human subjects in purely abstract blocks and volume by only focusing on the forms of Taichi. However,as he deepened his understanding of Taichi,he drew away from the ‘form’ and focused on the ‘momentum’. As he said,“It’s not just about carving the form itself,but the swift movements between each form.”
Ju once noted that “One must sculpt quickly with an instinctive mind. By quickly cutting the strokes without hesitation,it can be done in under two or three minutes. However,as soon as you let your mind wonder,seven or eight minutes may have passed by. I want my thoughts to trail behind my blade so I can display my authentic soul in the works.” First,Ju would observe the material of the wood before he decides on the subject of his sculpture. He would then cut,cleave,chop,and rip according to the natural grains of the wood. Keeping the wood’s distinctive nature,each of his Taichi sculptures is unique.
This sale presents a set of bronze sculptures from 1978 and another set of wooden sculptures made in the late 1980s. Ju’s Taichi Series began to mature in the late 1970s；his Taichi figures have taken an abstract form,and became more vigorous and concise. This is the period when Ju started to experiment with bronze material. Since styrofoam is soft and pliable,he first carved the form and had it cast in bronze. The final product kept Ju’s original bearing of his blades marks and the rhythm of his movement.
Collection Of A Notable Press Celebrity,Taichi Balance Of The Universe
This set of Taichi Pair features a pair of sparring figures exhibiting the complementary energies of ‘soft and hard’. With just a few powerful bold cuts,Ju accurately depicts the form of the figures. The right figure strikes first with a push of the hands in a horse stance,while the figure on the left is poised,ready to neutralize and deflect the opponent’s force. As this set of work portrays the attacker and the defender,it shows their movement is synchronized. It is a harmonious connection as the power of the two figures shifts back and forth. It delivers a message from Marcel Duchamp’s Nude Descending a Staircase,No.2,stating that the continuous dynamic momentum is best depicted with a three-dimensional sculpture to display the aesthetic conception. This set of works was acquired from a prominent Taiwanese press celebrity in the 1970s,Mr. Gao Xinjiang,known as “The Most Powerful and Dynamic Person on Newpaper”. Mr. Gao has served as the Chief Editor of Taiwan’s China Time and Hong Kong’s Ming Pao. He is a cultured man with a keen eye for aesthetics. He discovered the talents of several influential folk artists such as Hong Tong,Ju Ming,Chen Da.
Cloud Hands Shadow Boxing,Complementary Forces
In the second set,Taichi Pair：Taichi Series-Turn Stomp and Taichi Series-Cloud Hands,created in 1985 and 1988 respectively. Taichi Series-Turn Stomp shows a figure shifting his weight to the right leg and flings his hands in the air. As he waits for the perfect opportunity to attack,he turns his body in a sideward motion,raises his leg to strike. Ju effortlessly projects both weight and the dynamic movements of a Taichi practitioner. Taichi Series-Cloud Hands is made of camphor wood. Keeping the existing structures of the wood represents Ju’s respect for nature as well as maintaining the ‘chi’ energy balance between one’s inner spirituality and one’s world. Cloud Hands,the 10th gesture of the 24 step routine in Taichi,is a basic and integral movement in Taichi which involves waving the hands fluidly in rounded motions to defend the opponent from striking.
Ju’s sculptures are intrinsically linked to his mental and physical practice of practice of Taichi. His works embody a longstanding Chinese tradition embedded with rich spirituality,which makes Ju one of the most distinctive Contemporary Asian sculptors.

Price estimate:
HKD：400,000 - 500,000
USD：51,600 - 64,500

Auction Result:
HKD: --