Asia Art Center (Taipei) is honored to present Taichi Arch: Ju Ming Solo Exhibition, scheduled to take place from August 5 to September 17, 2023. This marks a momentous occasion as Asia Art Center (Taipei) showcases the works of the acclaimed sculpture master Ju Ming again since his last solo showcase in 2022, Living World: Ju Ming Solo Exhibition. It is, moreover, a solo exhibition dedicated to the debut of Ju Ming’s remarkable stone masterpiece, Taichi Series–Taichi Arch.
In 2000, Ju Ming created Taichi Series–Taichi Arch, a collection of pieces deemed to be the grand finale that brings his Taichi Series to perfection. The series began with the use of copper, and then, along the journey, the artist adopted stone as the material of choice, which will be shown to the public for the first time in this exhibition. The characteristics and the irreversible nature of stone’s materiality magnify the unrefined authenticity of Ju Ming’s sculptural language. Every carving mark, every intricate area found on these stone sculptures, stands as a testament to the artist’s unparalleled mastery of sculpture.
The artist described, “In previous works, a distance is always there between two figures practicing Pushing Hands. In this one, I allow two hands to hold together. Once the connection is formed, the flow of Qi and the nuanced bond of muscles naturally complete each other. Everything becomes one and turns into the shape of an arch.” Named after a simple “arch” shape, Taichi Series–Taichi Arch aims to capture something yet more profound—the quintessential quality of “not releasing and resisting directly” in a double Taichi dance—and to translate it artistically into a form of extreme abstraction. The lively interplay of void and substantiality, the fusion of firm yet tender contours, the delicate alternation of coarse and fine geometric surfaces, along with the symmetrical yet imperfectly balanced plasticity, all converge to create a space that exudes a captivating sense of both weightiness and airiness.
In the mid-1970s, Ju Ming’s fascination with Taichi practice, initially pursued for health reasons, paved the way for the genesis of the Taichi Series. Over the years, Taichi not only became an integral part of Ju Ming’s daily physical and mental routine but also continued to inspire his art. As the artist deepened his commitment to Taichi, he grew intimately acquainted with its fundamental essence. This connection empowered him to interpret Taichi’s intricate “patterns” and “spirits” into artistic language and forms. While the series embraced the formal simplification of Taichi’s set movements at its start, Ju Ming’s sculpting goes beyond the constraints of “physical shapes” and is often guided by a freeing spontaneity of “spirits.”
Ju Ming stressed that “art is an arduous spiritual practice.” Artistic practice must be deeply rooted in everyday life, while the everyday constitutes the sum of artistic life. He once said, “One’s attitude towards art should be the same as that of a monk towards Buddhism. From consuming food, putting on garments, to sleeping, every daily activity dedicates solely to nothing else but Buddhism. No other thoughts. No other desires. One does it wholeheartedly and never wavers. This is how ‘art is an arduous spiritual practice’ should look like.” Taichi Series–Taichi Arch, brought into being by the artist who has endured unimaginable hardship in such a mental state, is certainly an artistic creation as well as a manifestation of a spiritual journey. The timeless presence of stone, further, enriches the harmony of void and substance and the flow of movement and stillness with a fascinating sense of serene grandeur.
