Footnotes

Provenance
Hanart TZ Gallery, Hong Kong
Acquired from the above by the present owner

朱銘
太極系列：單鞭下勢
銅雕
約1980年代作

簽名：朱銘（刻於背面）
版數：24/40（刻於背面）
此作附財團法人朱銘文教基金會開立之作品保證書

來源
香港漢雅軒
現藏家得自上述來源

Best known for his Taichi series sculpture, Ju Ming is one of the most important Asian sculptors, whose extraordinary talent has brought him international reputation. 

Taichi Series: Single Whip was created in early 1980s, when Ju Ming began exploring the Taichi motif on his sculpting works, his signature Taichi Series earned widespread worldwide favour. Combining the calm force and stability, the Single Whip sculpture takes its form from one of the most recognisable postures in Taichi, it captures the embodiment of internal circular momentum. The voluminous sculpture has developed from a clear representation of the powerful strike, the fighter's left arm expresses the brave, distinctive form and spirit of force like a lash of a whip. The projected mighty energy can be demonstrated in this firm and stable posture, as the inner force would travel through the balance body in a straight line like an invisible electric current and served as a counter-attacking tactic, based on the core principle of "the soft overcoming the hard" in Chinese martial art. Through the angular cuts and clean strokes in his wood engraving, the sculpture retains the original wood grain from the material and reflecting the unity of man and nature, the essential notion of Taichi.

The Single Whip sculpture by Ju Ming recreates the philosophical insights and essence of Taichi through his artistic languages wholeheartedly. The cohesiveness of heavy stability and inner momentum reveals the strength and aesthetics of Taichi despite the small scale.

朱銘堪稱亞洲最舉足輕重的雕塑家之一，以其「太極系列」雕塑見稱，憑藉超凡卓越的才華而蜚聲國際。

《太極系列：單鞭下勢》創作於八十年代初，朱銘當時開始在他的雕塑作品中探索太極形態，而其後他標誌性的「太極系列」更廣泛贏得全球青睞。雕塑《單鞭下勢》結合平靜力量及穩如泰山之態，並以太極中最為人熟悉的招式呈現，捕捉了內在乾坤運轉的氣勢。豐厚的雕塑先以俐落的強攻出招，人物左臂展現出猶如揮鞭勇毅的獨特形態及強悍精神。作品穩如磐石的姿勢投射出雄壯力量，而內在力量如隱形電流般直線貫穿平衡的軀體，並以中國武術以柔濟剛的核心原則作出反攻套路。他在木刻所運用稜角分明的切割和俐落刀痕，展現在此作表面上的木材天然紋路，反映太極天人合一的基本概念。

朱銘在他所創作的《單鞭下勢》中，以其藝術語言竭力重塑出太極的哲學見解與精髓。此作極為精巧，沉實穩重與內在力量的凝聚揭示了太極的力度與美學。