On April 22, 2023, beloved Taiwanese sculptor Ju Ming (1938 – 2023) passed away at his home. At the age of 85, he had had a long, successful life, rising from apprenticeship ranks to become one of the most recognized contemporary artists in Asia. He paved the way for a myriad of young artists, and urged the world towards a deeper respect for Taiwanese and Chinese cultural traditions. Now, Revere Auctions holds one of Ju Ming’s sculptures for one lucky buyer: it could very well be you.
Ju Ming was born Ju Chuantai in Tung-Hsiao, Taiwan. Completing his formal education at 13, he began his artistic training in full upon turning 15. He held two apprenticeships: in the 1950s, he studied traditional wood carving under Lee Chin-Chuan; in the ‘60s and ‘70s, he practiced contemporary sculpture under Yuyu Yang. His first solo exhibition arrived in 1976, and he rose quickly through the artistic world.
Ju Ming is best known for geometric abstractions, dynamic postures, and a consistent tactile quality, his figures based on tai chi and Buddhist imagery. He used a variety of materials—among them wood, stone, bronze, and steel—but maintained a stunning sense of fluidity and physicality in the solidity. One of his prominent artistic partners in Hong Kong described Ju Ming’s work as holding “the fluidity of calligraphy and the monumentality of mountains.”
Ju Ming himself was certainly a monument. His work, ranging in size from tabletop to public works, exhibited in the Tokyo Central Museum, the Hong Kong Arts Centre, the Max Hutchinson Gallery, the Taipei Fine Arts Museum, the Southbank Centre, the Dunkirk Contemporary Art Museum, the Place Vendome, and the Brandenburg Gate, among many others. In his lifetime, he received an Honorary Doctor of Arts Degree and The Executive Yuan Cultural Award, the highest honors of the Taiwanese government. He remained in his beloved country until his death.
Within his career, Ju Ming had two primary bodies of work: the Tai Chi series, begun in the 1970s, and the Living World series, begun in the 1980s. Revere Auctions’s sculpture belongs to the former. Entitled “Single Whip,” this cast bronze art piece was completed in 1998, and features an abstract figure in one of many tai chi poses. Ju Ming utilized the juxtaposition of hard angles and soft lines to mimic the variety of movement within the practice of tai chi. Signed and numbered at the bottom, it is an unbelievable work of art. Any would be lucky to own it, and, with it, to own a piece of a brilliant artist.
