Bronze sculpture Edition: 15/20

47.8 × 36.3 × 36.4 cm.18 7/8 × 14 1/4 × 14 3/8 in.

Signed in Chinese, dated and numbered on the bottom of left side
PROVENANCE
Private Collection, Asia

This work is accompanied by an authentication report issued by Nonprofit Organization Juming Culture and Education Foundation

Sculpting Heaven and Earth, Focused on the Universal
Ju Ming's Diverse and Majestic Taichi World of the 1990s

In the mid-1970s, Ju Ming started to study Taichi after being encouraged to do so by his teacher Yuyu Yang as a way of improving his health. However, Ju also used the practice of the Chinese martial art to enhance his grounding in sculpture and started to consider creating art work based on Taichi moves. In 1976, one of the pieces in the artist's first solo exhibition was a wood carving titled Kung-fu and this marked the origin point of the Taichi Series. After many years of honing his skills and reflection, Ju Ming developed a deeper experience and understanding of the Taichi spirit, which led to the birth of the world-renowned Taichi Series. In the 1980s, he further expanded the works in the series from a classical single move to two figures in combat and in the 1990s, as the language of the series continued to evolve, created Taichi Arch. At the same time, Ju also transcended the limits of wood by embracing a range of materials -- bronze, stone sculpture and stainless steel.

Through the wide-ranging and imposing Taichi Series, Ju Ming constructed a bridge connecting Eastern and Western sculpture. Indeed, creative works with a “Taichi” motif were later shown in solo exhibitions at the Max Hutchinson Sculpture Fields in New York, Exchange Square in Hong Kong, Yorkshire Sculpture Park in The United Kingdom, The Hakone Open-Air Museum in Japan and Place Vendôme in Paris. The 1990s were a Golden Age for Ju, artistically and professionally, establishing for him an unassailable position as an “Eastern Art Master.”

On this occasion three classical works created by Ju Ming at the very peak of the Taichi Series in the 1990s are being auctioned: Taichi Series - Huge Roc Spreading Wings (Lot 26), Taichi Series - Turn Stomp (Lot 28) and Taichi Series - Arch (Lot 27). What is of particularly note in the presentation of these three works is that they showcase the evolution of the artist's creative spirit in the form of bronze, stone and wood sculptures. Moreover, the patterns and energy of different surface textures detail how Ju successfully scaled the highest artistic peaks where “humankind and nature exist as one.”

Strength and Stability Infused with Chinese Philosophy
The Largest Taichi Series Work Ever Auctioned

“Ju Ming uses lines and forms in three-dimensional space to resolve the fact that bronze sculpture has always felt heavy and clunky, expertly showcasing the rhythms of Taichi, while finding harmony and balance in the inherently unstable state of Chinese martial arts. Ju's ‘Taichi Spinning Kick' and ‘Taichi Combat' speak to the magical discovery of Greek sculptures, and one is surprised to find such nimble forms hidden within these huge pieces.”
——French art critic Jean-Luc Chalumeau

What is emblematic of the work Taichi Series – Turn Stomp is that it is carved from a single stone block, imbues geometric shapes with a sense of volume and embraces unhurried movement, thereby integrating the juxtaposed elements of “calmness and strength.” As the art critic Jean-Luc Chalumeau observes, although the large blocks appear heavy, they contain nimble forms hidden within. Moreover, this work is also the largest of the fewer than 50 stone sculptures by Ju Ming that have been auctioned over the past 30 years or more. In addition, carving such a large piece requires a great deal of energy on the part of the artist, which is why Ju creates so few stone sculptures and each one is well thought out and planned before the work starts.

This stone sculpture also exquisitely infuses the ideas of Chinese philosophy into the medium, utilizing a vital and large abstract beauty to highlight the spirit of geometry which approximates to modern cubism. Viewed from the rear, the body of the figure is smooth and round, as if a piece of untouched stone waiting to be carved, with flashes of fine mineral texture from the natural roughness that encompass the history of the Earth. However, from the front, the large surface area of the piece is replaced with a square shape. The head is square and the left leg straight, employing an upright rectangular block of stone to represent the Taichi move “Grasping.” In contrast, the right knee is brought forward and bent, forming a solid lower base that serves as a platform. Viewed on a vertical line, the interplay of physically large pieces, front and back, appears as an integrated whole, showcasing the boundless majesty of an unmoving mountain peak. Moreover, it is when the body turns to one side that the speed of movement becomes apparent, but from the side the extended left leg bent in a kicking motion is in an arc shape, and the further down one looks the more the pointed toes are evident. The right arm hangs down in a steadying motion, as if putting down roots. It is in this balance between speed and power that the work showcases the beauty of squares and circles, a perfect combination of attack and defense. In addition, the combination of movement and stillness reconciles the relative balance between the limbs. In this way, the piece offers a perfect representation of the way in which calmness and strength are integral to Taichi.

Playing to One's Strengths - Extraordinary Tension
The Uncommonly Brilliant Taichi Series – Huge Roc Spreading Wings

“In works imbued with rhythmic vitality, the flow of the texture in each piece follows from the inner energy and sense of dynamism in the piece, whereas to showcase the most rational and natural rhythm of the whole involves conveying life force with ‘surface expressing the inner world.' The success or failure of a work is unrelated to the casual addition or subtraction of this or that piece, but is rather possessed of an existence that approximates to instinct, is independent and singular and only then naturally takes shape.”
——Ju Ming

Unlike the large and bulky Taichi Series – Turn Stomp, Taichi Series – Huge Roc Spreading Wings is like an ethereal being floating in the air or an observant Taoist solid and unmoving. The piece also reduces the human body to its basic essence, partitioning the rhythm and life energy of diverse space, to present the classic Taichi move -- Golden rooster standing on one leg.

Moreover, in order to showcase the structurally well-balanced nature of this move, as well as its embrace of stillness and movement, the artist creates the “balanced” sense of tension as soul of the work. The piece ingeniously captures the moment of aggressive attack, using a three dimensional horizontal and vertical axis to show the limbs in perfect balance. On the horizontal axis the two arms are lifted into the air to form the heroic posture of a large roc with its wings spread. On the vertical axis, the figure is stood with one foot solidly on the ground and a stable centre of gravity, which further balances the extension of the arms and forms a solid cross shape. At the same time, the right leg breaks with the horizontal and vertical planes by kicking high and forward, with the toes like an upward pointing blade, to imply unstoppable speed. In concert with the figure's calm and strong posture, Ju Ming uses the strength expressed in sharp and smooth cutting motions to create a rounded bronze section, and after repeatedly stripping away the layers of skin and flesh all that remains are the refined bones of the figure, exuding an uncommon and lofty pride. Viewed from different angles, the work clearly displays the blending of movement and stillness integral to Taichi philosophy. Indeed, with its natural and flowing style the “external” strength of this sculpture is replaced with “inner” qi, restoring “inner” essence by carving the “external,” a testament to the mature language employed in Ju Ming's Taichi sculptures.

Embracing Heaven and Earth Infused with Universal Spirit
Moving toward the Boundless Energy of the Arch

After engaging in two decades of extensive research related to the Taichi Series, in the 1990s Ju Ming no longer viewed Taichi as a matter of showcasing the power of one or two individuals, but was rather more interested in “spiritual bearing” with an ability to nurture the coexistence of humankind and nature. As art history professor Hsiao Chong-ray has said: “In its early days the Taichi Series focused more on ‘form' as some kind of virtual overture and then the expression of ‘meaning' by external strength, but in the 1990s, ‘Arch' series returned to the shapelessness and constant flow of ‘spiritual' rhythm as the essence of Taichi.” As such, Taichi Series - Arch is a masterpiece that marks the apotheosis of Ju Ming's Taichi Series.

The rectangular blocks and cutting rhythm only belonging to wood carving makes the work harmonious with both hardness and softness. The figures' bodies are in one piece, stretching with rhythm. One man pushes himself against the ground, and stretches out his other hand in an arch-like pose. The other man defends with one hand, stands firmly, and holds a balance in forth-back action, which is highly rhythmic. The tense wooden texture of work perfectly coordinates with the persons' body shape, precisely catching the abstract artistic characters in this specific scene. The form of arch is also a symbol of “two polarities” of Taichi, summarizing the virtuality-solidity switch. It seems that the masters are fighting, while the pose that they hold each other is actually a circulation of power. The breath control and circulation of Taichi is also embedded with the human connection in this work, developing a spiritual appeal, a higher self.

As a developed work, Taichi Series - Arch is permanently collected by the Chinese University of Hong Kong, University of Cambridge, and Ashmolean Museum of Oxford University. Taichi Series - Arch presented in this auction is full of tension. The fine texture of the wood indicates a long-lived internal energy. When it is put on a desk, the Taichi spirit and the aesthetics of wood carving would be right in front of you to admire.

Price estimate:
HKD 350,000 – 450,000
USD 44,900 – 57,700