JU TING

Ju Ting’s methodology is deeply rooted in her training at the printmaking department of the Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA). The techniques of printmaking—its inverted layering logic, material experimentation, and interplay between precision and chance—have profoundly shaped her approach to works, allowing her to transcend traditional conventions. This influence is manifest in both the Amber and Deep Waters Run Quiet series, where premeditated color schemes, gestural rhythms, and controlled randomness coexist. Like the intentional accidents of multicoloured printmaking or the allure of destructive marks in etching, Ju transforms the ‘damage’ of metal plates used for printmaking into acts of destruction and reconstruction in acrylic layers. Though the Amber series appears to eschew explicit force, its dazzling surfaces subtly betray an undercurrent of latent violence.

Ju Ting’s practice engages in a silent dialogue with historical female artists who challenged patriarchal-dominated art discourse. By asserting female subjectivity and multi-layered perspectives drawn from personal and collective female experiences, she forges a distinctive artistic language. Whether as a professional artist or as a woman, the introspection, emotional complexity, and spiritual weight of these dual roles permeate her works, manifesting in the dynamic interplay between motion and stasis, sensitivity and reason. In front of Amber, viewers find themselves enchanted by cascades of luminous hues—colours that seem to ferment and expand, unrestrained.

Through iterative experimentation and refined techniques, Ju Ting has developed a unique method of processing and carving materials. In the Deep Waters Run Quiet series, she achieves unprecedented textural intricacy and a dynamic, undulating rhythm reminiscent of geological strata and the contours of mountain landscapes. In her monumental triptych Deep Waters Run Quiet 010125 (2025, acrylic on wood, 223 × 552 × 10 cm; each panel 223 × 184 × 10 cm), the surface hues depart from her signature vibrancy and adopt a muted palette. By nuanced shifts in color temperature, serpentine geometries, and innovative textural treatments, the artist evokes a silent yet potent surge of sensory perception.

Upon closer inspection, the viewer perceives a turbulence lurking beneath these surfaces, where the artist’s anxieties, fears, and self-perception as a woman intersect. It is within these layers that Ju Ting transmutes her introspection and the complex insights of social and domestic spheres into compelling visual metaphors.

(Excerpt from the essay written by Li Suchao for the exhibition)

Ju Ting (b. 1983 in Shandong, China) currently lives and works in Beijing. She studied at the Printmaking Department of the Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA), receiving a BFA in 2007, and an MFA in 2013.