Lot Description
JU MING
(ZHU MING, Chinese, B. 1938)
Taichi Series - Single Whip
signed in Chinese; dated '97'; numbered '6/10' (engraved on the back)
stone sculpture
71 x 52 x 31.5 cm. (28 x 20 1/2 x 12 3/8 in.)
edition of 6/10
Executed in 1997
石雕 雕塑
版數︰6/10
1997年作
簽名︰朱銘
Provenance
Private Collection, Asia
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Lot Notes
The 1997 Taichi Series - Single Whip (Lot 1181) is a simplified geometrical figure with reduced delineation of details, it is no longer important to render a realistic movement, along with gradual abstraction of the outline, the artist shift the focus to internal potential energy in bodily and facet dissection, Taichi is all about the power of softskill and passivity, the sculpture's external angular transition also tends to be gentle, reflecting Ju Ming's comprehension towards the shape and spirit of Taichi, as well as he worked out the sculpture's visual form from Laozi's concept of "soft and tough, static and dynamic, straight and curved". Ju Ming's bold and dexterous way of cutting is exemplified in the Taichi Series - Golden Rooster Standing (Lot 1182), which is an imitation of the posture of a rooster standing on one leg, waiting for its opponent to strike. Between the clean- shaped outline and distinctive facets, the artists injected a strong sense of movement, giving the sculpture an overall sense of comprehensiveness, as a result, the bodily movement of the sculpture seems to suggest Futurism which manifests the consecutive temporal nature of object movement.
Ju Ming's teacher Yang Fengying once said, "Ju's creative path is continually changing. It is a dynamic change, arising out of genuine responses to life." As the artist turned from Folk Series and Taichi Series to Living World Series, his thematic range continues to expand to the extent that it is wide enough to cover the panorama of all kinds of people. The theme of Living World Series-Skirt Story (Lot 1183) is obviously a girl's skirt. Ju Ming captured the instantaneous movement of the flying skirt, arousing the audience's curiosity towards the story behind the skirt. With colour variation added to the sculpture's formal elements, the icy metallic texture of bronze surface, Living World Series-Skirt Story is a reflection of the colourful world, the artist's return to reality, and his injection of his care for society and life into his artistic creation.
