PROVENANCE:
Spring Gallery, Taipei
Acquired from the above by the present owner in 1979.

This sculpture is to be sold with a certificate of authenticity issued by the NPO Juming Culture and Education Foundation, Taipei.

HEN AND CHICKS (MOTHER)
JU MING

JJu Ming was born in a small village in Miaoli County, Taiwan in 1938. In the 1950s, after an introduction from his father to the Mazu Temple in TongxiaoTownship, Miaoli County, he was apprenticed to Master Lee Chin- Chuan to learn traditional carving. The type of carving Ju Ming learned from Lee Chin-Chuan was the most traditional wood carving technique among a l l the sculptural crafts in Taiwan that had passed down from Fujianese and Cantonese craftsmen. The craft included carving, polishing, coloring, application of gold lines, and other techniques. In the later part of the decade, Ju founded a studio and ran it for a short while. In Taiwan after WWII, Western ideologies and Modernism were fashionable. But in the 1970s, due to the political climate, a nativist consciousness began to grow. The advocacy of nationalization was also reflected in more attention being paid to local folk art. The art scene in Taiwan also began to echo local literature. After many years of anticipation, the 31 year-old Ju Ming was finally able to pay Yuyu Yang a visit and begin studying with the master. Thus began Ju's second apprenticeship. He learned about modern sculpture. Through a simple naturalness and exceptional talent, he gradually elevated the wood carving crafts that he had relied on in the past for his livelihood into artistic creations imbued with the meaning of life.

Many years into carving and painting in the countryside have enabled Ju Ming to form unique skills and insights. His works are primarily in bronze, clay or wood. Some of the best-known pieces include the Homeland series, the Taichi sculptures, and the Living World sculptures. The artistic forms of Ju Ming's sculptures are based on the principles of Taoism. The contours are carefree and fluid, distilling movement into stillness. One can also see the spirit and nuance of traditional Chinese painting in his works. He advocates a simplification mode of expression, letting the works return to a state of simplicity and truth. Hen and Chicks depicts Ju Ming's deep affection for the bygone days of the Taiwanese countryside. The thick and powerful ink brush-strokes come from the same mold as his experienced and flowing sculpturing techniques, paired with determined yet gentle creative strength.

The inspiration of Hen and Chicks came from Ju Ming's own childhood experience in a farming village; it is an early period work from the Homeland series executed in 1976. During this period, the chiseling is simpler and more defined. The rugged knife strokes convey a sense of graceful warmth: The hen glances downwards and, even though there are no fine details showing facial expression, the body movements and the lines of the neck depict the motherly love of the hen. Hens have the same motherly love women do, like a heavenly gift bestowed upon humanity. This love is as immeasurable as the earth and inexhaustible as the ocean. The chicks nestle closely to the hen and under her wings. With a precision of imagery and mature depiction, the chicks are instilled with a sense of energy and liveliness. The chicks are still timid and stayed close to their mother. The expression of love from the mother and the attachment and reliance the children hold for their mother is well represented in this sculpture. The grassroots vitality expressed by Ju Ming emphasizes the resilience and determination of common characters in small farming communities. His work illustrates the artist's deep devotion and profound respect for this land. The work depicts the everlasting and all-sacrificing selfless motherly love, the keen sense o f physical expression, and the vividness associated with the creation of life. Through the rustic and pastoral mode of portrayal, the mundane has been miraculously transformed by the expert hands of the artist Ju Ming. The wood carving has been imbued with the love of a mother .

Ju Ming has purposely personified animals in order to show traditional Confucian family ethics. Although the artist began his exploration of the Taichi series in 1970, he never wholly gave up on the subjects of home and motherland. As he put it, My homeland is my roots. Therefore, Ju Ming boldly went against the processing principle of folk craft where the emphasis is on the refined details and smoothed-out wood of the products. Instead, he purposely left behind the many marks left by chiseling, splitting. He also retained the lines and grain of the natural wood. In his early period, when Ju Ming gifted a friend with a sculpture, the friend wrote: When I took up the sculpture in my hand, I was astonished by the exquisite details of this wood carving of a baby chick. The daring and rugged marks of the chisel are so few that you could count them, but every cut brings out the vitality of the chick. I had to exclaim with wonder and joy. Then, I looked even more closely at the paths made by the knife. Before any carving of the chick was done, Ju Ming must have painstakingly studied this piece of wood. From the flow of the wood grain and texture, I could tell he had already imagined every movement of the chick in his mind !

Ju Ming held his first solo exhibition at the National Museum of History in 1976. He dazzled the public with works from his Homeland Series; the positive accolades came in waves, and he came into the cultural spotlight in Taiwan. He is deemed as one of the most important symbols of the 1970's Taiwan Nativist Movement. Most of his works are inspired by the experiences of his life growing up in a farming village. Throughout his themes of buffaloes and chickens, he hold a special emphasis and respect for feelings of home. To him, the depiction of animals is both a reminiscence of his childhood in a farming community, and a source of endless inspiration.