Acrylic on wood board

97×122 cm. 38 1/4×48 in.

Signed in pinyin and dated on the reverse
PROVENANCE
Asia Art Center, Taipei
Important Private Collection, Asia

This work is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity issued by Asia Art Int'l Group Corporation.

Gleaming Jewel in Dreamy Waters
A Classic Work from Ju Ting's Pearl Series

The contemporary Chinese female artist, Ju Ting, has been a rising star of the art world in recent years. In 2013, she received her master's degree from the Printmaking Department of the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing, where she studied with the artist Tan Ping. After graduation, she incorporated the layering technique of printmaking into her works, slicing layers of acrylic paint with a triangular knife and challenging the flatness of the painterly surface with an almost semi-relief mode of working. Each work requires several months to complete. Her dynamic and unique artistic language and the delicate emotions underlying these abstract works have won her critical acclaim in China and abroad. Her works are in the collections of the National Art Museum of China in Beijing and the Taikang Art Museum, the Arario Museum in Korea, the White Rabbit Gallery in Australia, among others.

Beginning in 2012, Pearl is one of Ju Ting's earliest established abstract series and is highly emblematic of her work. In this series, she applies her expertise in colour and texture to creating poetic and metaphorical paintings, evoking contemplation on issues of female identity, experience and the long course of one's life. Pearl 091316 is one of the representative frames.

A Fusion of Softness and Strength

Pearls have been treasured jewels since ancient times, symbolising purity, beauty and wealth. Yet, the formation process of the pearl is full of struggles and pain. Ju Ting captures this twofold imagery and incorporates it into her work. In this painting, the soft, dreamy quality of purple intertwines with deep, rippling hints of black, as if weaving a web of dreams on a water surface. Each mark made by the carving knife is carefully designed. Up close, one can see iridescent colours revealed from each vertical slit, radiating kaleidoscropically like a pearl. From a distance, the purple stripes that vary in widths form an orderly pattern, like a screen of rapidly moving pearls.

Ju Ting uses a soft colour palette to create a gentle and delicate atmosphere. Meanwhile, she brings strength and tactility to the painting through the overlapping brushstrokes and the lush textural effects. By adopting the "pearl" imagery, she alludes to the power and resilience of women underneath their delicate and graceful appearances, enriching the work with a deeper meaning based on both softness and strength.

Price estimate:
HKD 120,000 – 180,000
USD 15,400 – 23,100