Ju Ming (Zhu Ming)

executed in 1997, this work is number 6 of an edition of 10

Jun Yong Art Gallery, Taipei
Acquired directly from the above by the present important private Asian collector

The work is overall in good and its original condition.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Geometric Surfaces, Abandoning the Fixed Form for the Dynamic
Geometric surfaces are the other vital element of Ju Ming’s sculpture art. Created in 1997, the stone sculpture of Taichi: Single Whip (Lot 1015) is a perfect example of such. The work is a series of rectangles, triangles, squares, and other geometric shapes assembled to create a human figure. The head of the figure is a square on each of its sides, the left leg, extended forward and slightly bent, is discernably a curved rectangular cuboid. The bent right leg brings the figure to a seated crouch, containing a number of irregular cubic and pyramidal forms. These geometric surfaces are layered and overlapping, creating a powerful sense of substantial mass and dimensionality. This deconstruction of a taichi master into geometric surfaces and shapes transcends realism and turns toward an exploration of the aesthetics of form. In this way, the work mirrors the spirit of Cézanne’s paintings of still-life fruit – as well as the works produced by the Cubist movement that followed from Cézanne’s lead – in which the aesthetic beauty of a circle is fully appreciated for its pure and simple roundness and fullness. It also echoes Matisse’s geometric assemblies, which convey a nimble and musical artistic image.
Taichi: Single Whip, like its modernist predecessors, is imbued with the powerful spirit of modern dimensionality and meaning, transcending plain realism by deconstructing the form of the human figure, returning the realist image to its geometric shapes, and then reassembling them. The various assemblages, the transformations and undulations, the linked interaction between the lines and the space between the lines combine to form a dynamic human figure, which ably leads the viewer’s eye, leaping from one surface to another, communicating a powerful dynamism and the nimble rhythm of the martial artist in practice. In the deconstruction and reconstruction of the figure, Taichi: Single Whip abandons the fixed form for the dynamic, its aim no longer simple representation, but rather, toward the abstract realm of the hidden force and momentum within the taichi master. The ambition of Ju Ming’s Taichi Series is not a portrayal of a single position, nor a single form, but an illustration of “the moment between movement”, the rhythm and momentum as the artist, ready, awaits the next action. This echoes taichi practice’s emphasis on fluidity in form and appearance, a pursuit of the body’s complete liberation of movement.