Taichi contains the essence of traditional Chinese culture. It is all about nurturing qi, which, originating with the universe, is the energy that pervades all living creatures, that feeds the circle of growth and decay, life and death. Ju Ming has been called 'the only Taiwanese artist of international stature' who is able to cast this profound philosophy into concrete manifestations of modern art. His Taichi series stands as a milestone in the history of Taiwanese sculpture, and has also gained him a firm international reputation. Says art critic Hsiao Chiung-jui, The Taichi series, from its early beginnings that tended to be experiments with simple figurative imitation, later led, via dynamic expressions of imageries pregnant with meaning, to the meta-figurative, purely spiritual level of divine rhythm and melody, expressed in his Arch of Taichi works from the late nineties. This process of abstraction describes the artistic career of modern sculptor Ju Ming in a nutshell.

Vividness of expression is the hallmark of Ju Ming's sculpture. Arch of Taichi easily belongs to the artist's most mature work. While at first glance these pieces seem to be just what the title implies, arches of various types and forms, they in fact evolved from representations of two adepts exchanging 'blows', i.e. jointly practising the formalized postures and moves of taichi. What Ju does is to take these already highly abstract movements and further sublimate them to the point where only dynamic lines and shapes are left - the force that went into the energetic strokes of his carving knife invests the finished pieces with their momentum and pace without sacrificing solid tangibility. Going far beyond acquired skills and predetermined forms, Ju attains a level of quintessential simplicity that directly communicates the life force in all its archetypal splendour. This lot features all the central qualities of the artist's sculpture in miniature form, allowing even observers with no previous knowledge of shadowboxing an intuitive understanding of the 'art of taichi'.