朱銘

This work is consistent with the artist's chosen medium and working method. It is in our opinion that the work is in very good 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."

The Culmination of the Living World Series

Ju Ming visited New York several times in the 1980s. After returning to Taiwan, he began working on his Living World series of wood carvings. He chose not to reduplicate his Taichi series because he knew that its theme was not solely the realm of his individual creativity; its deep cultural origins imposed certain restrictions on his practice. Consequently, Ju Ming decided to "forget" once more: he moved on from the Taichi series, which was the greatest success and heaviest burden of his career as an artist. He left behind not only the subject of the series but also its creative methods in order to take his next innovative step. Ju Ming would often draw up drafts for his Taichi series, but when he started his Living World series of painted wood carvings, he stopped planning ahead. Instead, he worked in a state of complete immersion and completed each work rapidly. His figures are thus unconstrained by rationality, and they possess a more spontaneous character. In Living World Series (Lot 1045), Ju Ming's mastery of the Way of Nature is evident. He carved the most ordinary of subjects, two girls seated side-by-side, and applied gaily-coloured paints to the figures, creating a tableau full of vitality. The incisions in the painted wooden figures are coarse, and the woodwork is not meticulously detailed, but the figures possess a simple and pure air that could not be achieved by zealous processing and polishing.

From painted wood carvings in 1981 to cast-bronze sponges in 1985 and stainless steel sculptures in 1991, a rich variety of mediums were used in the Living World series, making it the representative series of Ju Ming's sculptural synthesis. In his 1983 ceramic work Living World Series (Three Gods of Auspices) (Lot 1046), Ju Ming drew on his early experience of making temple idols. To create these figurines of the mythic Chinese gods of happiness, prosperity and longevity, the artist utilised a freehand form of expression that captures an energy beyond the traditional significance of idols. He applied light and airy glazes to sturdy figurines of rolled clay. The natural fractures of the glaze lend a simple, unadorned, and transcendent air to the three immortal beings. Ju Ming's Living World series combines unpretentious and quotidian themes with spontaneous and free techniques to achieve what he called an "archetypical expression of the myriad states of the living world".