PRESENTATION: Ju Ting-Deep in the Mountain

Ju Ting is a Beijing-based abstract artist whose work is characterised by the coalescence of conventional mediums (painting and sculpture0and the ways in which she blurs the boundaries between them. Employing layers of thickly applied acrylic paint interrupted by folds and fissures, Ju’s practice examines the qualities of surface and texture.

By Efi Michalarou
Photo: Galerie Urs Meile Archive

Within Ju Ting’s artistic work, the two series on display in his solo exhibition “Deep in the Mountains”, “Amber” and “Deep Waters Run Quiet”, stand as testimonies to methodical experiments in a technique that the artist has constantly explored and perfected over the years. During her meticulous working process, Ju Ting uses simple wooden boards as canvases on which she orchestrates a conceptual arrangement and accumulation of acrylic color tones. Layer by layer, she builds up an opulent mass of color, with each new layer carefully covering the previous one. This repetitive and time-consuming work process demands the artist’s complete concentration and endurance, which often leads to a meditative state during production. Moreover, the act of overlaying is simultaneously an act of temporary disappearance and oblivion, which lends her work a paradoxical beauty. Ju Ting’s artistic approach, however, is not just the mere application of color; it is ultimately the transformative act of unveiling that characterizes the aesthetic expression of her work. Equipped with a carving knife, the artist carefully cuts through the countless layers of acrylic paint to reveal the color spectrum that has disappeared underneath. In doing so, the knife surpasses its conventional utility function and becomes a direct tool of artistic expression. The brute intervention creates three-dimensional brushstrokes that meander with a ‘lyrical cadence’ over the ups and downs of the surface, giving the work an additional dimension of depth and movement. The fascination of Ju Ting’s series of works lies not only in their tactile appeal, but also in the ethereal interplay of light and color that makes each new composition vibrate. As viewers traverse the exhibition space, a kaleidoscope of hues emerges, a symphony of changing colors that ebbs and flows with every glance. This synthesis of color and light becomes clear in Ju Ting’s “Amber” series, in which the artist reveals a conceptual refinement of her technique. By introducing geometric patterns, she creates optical illusions that are reminiscent of the refraction of light in gemstones when viewed from a distance. On closer inspection, the meticulously calibrated, vertically merging lines unfold, creating a fascinating visual effect between sharpness and blurriness. Ju Ting skillfully moves between the boundaries of the perceived and the hidden, whereby her large-format compositions achieve a suggestive effect and manifest themselves as poetic works between painting and sculpture. The latest series, “Deep Waters Run Quiet”, is a significant further development of her previous wall works. The application of paint has become noticeably pastier and has been given a tactile dimension, so that vein-like structures and protrusions run across the surface and lend each composition a palpable sense of vibrancy. The hand-cut furrows also evoke depths that have not yet appeared so pronounced in her previous work and which may well be reminiscent of a swell on the open sea. As the title of the series – a variation on the proverb ‘still waters run deep’ – suggests, the calm and inconspicuous exterior conceals a passionate and subtle interior. By means of the symbolic inversion, Ju Ting refers to a certain ambiguity and unpredictability of the interior by bringing out the colors. Through this titling and the haptic perception of the picture surface, Ju Ting lures the viewer into a field of ambiguity and conjecture, where the interplay of color and form invites open interpretation. In the quiet depths of her paintings, she exposes the complexity of human (and her own) experience and invites us to reflect on the dichotomy between superficial serenity and inner turmoil.

Photo: Ju Ting , Deep Waters Run Quiet 101323, 2023 acrylic on board, 125 x 154 x 7 cm, The artist and Galerie Urs Meile

Info:  Galerie Urs Meile, Rosenberghöhe 4, Lucerne, Switzerland, Duration: 2/5-26/7/2024, Days & Hours: Tue-Fri 10:00-18:00, www.galerieursmeile.com/