Ju Ting is a Beijing-based abstract artist whose work is characterised by the coalescence of conventional mediums—painting and sculpture—and the ways in which she blurs the boundaries between them.
Read MoreEmploying layers of thickly applied acrylic paint interrupted by folds and fissures, Ju's practice examines the qualities of surface and texture.
Graduating with a BA in Printmaking from the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing in 2007, followed by an MFA in Printmaking in 2013, Ju brings printmaking techniques to her canvases. Her works begin with the application of monochromatic layers of acrylic paint in a fashion similar to printing, which she then peels off like sheets of thick, coloured plastic or cuts into as if engraving the surface, resulting in compositions that seem to defy the potential of their materials.
Given that they are made of paint and occupy a two-dimensional picture plane, many of Ju Ting's artworks appear to fall under the category of painting. However, through her ability to exploit the malleable plasticity of acrylic paint, Ju reveals the possibilities of the draped, sliced, or torn picture plane, breaking through the tradition of painting and into the sculptural realm.
In representative series like 'Untitled' (2015–ongoing), '+-' (2016–2018), and 'Pearl' (2016–ongoing), Ju engages in the act of manipulating different painted surfaces. In 'Untitled', the artist layers contrasting coats of dense acrylic paint and incorporates surface imperfections such as tears and cuts to selectively reveal the layers beneath. For '+-' and 'Pearl', the thickly painted surface is slashed with sharp tools to create long, vertical slits, articulated through chromatic, tonal, and textural contrasts.
Depending on the juxtaposition of major or minor tonal keys, the emotions that the artist's compositions evoke can vary between subtle and dramatic. In Untitled 102220 (2020), for example, she drapes languid, vinyl-like layers of aubergine, mint, and a muted, smoky blue—which, like her fondness for acid yellow, is a recurring tone in her work—against a deep navy and a torrid cadmium green, resulting in a dynamic colour palette that is equal parts sensual and subdued.
Ju Ting is one of several key women abstractionists on the international art scene, representing the most recent generation in contemporary art from China. She has exhibited across China and Europe, with her work also featuring in prominent museum and public collections including the National Art Museum of China in Beijing, White Rabbit Gallery in Sydney, and Arario Museum in Seoul.
Solo exhibitions include Winter is Coming, Galerie Urs Meile, Beijing (2021); When the Wind Comes, Galerie Urs Meile, Lucerne (2021); Scales, Galerie Urs Meile, Beijing (2019); Ju Ting, Galerie Urs Meile, Lucerne (2018); Peeling an Onion, OCT Contemporary Art Terminal, Xi'an (2017); Correspondances, Star Gallery, Beijing (2015); Color Has the Answer, YISHU 8, Beijing (2013).
Group exhibitions include Echo, Galerie Urs Meile, Ardez, Switzerland (2021); The Logic of Painting, Shijiazhuang Art Museum and Xinjiang Art Museum, China (2021); Painting and Existence – Chinese, Japanese, and Korean Abstract Painting, Tang Contemporary, Beijing (2020); Dance With It, Taikang Space, Beijing (2018); Extended Ground, Galerie Urs Meile, Lucerne (2017); and A New Generation of Chinese Women Artists, Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum at Michigan State University.
Fay Janet Jackson | Ocula | 2022
