Remnants & Realisation: Encounter, London
UK,
2018-19
Opened in September 2018 (until January 2019) Remnants and Realisation was chosen as the first exhibition to be held in the newly developed 4,600 sq. ft gallery of the recently refurbished Smithson building (formerly known as the Economist building).
After two years in the making, the show celebrates an energetic new body of work including 12 pieces ranging from paintings (made with raw pigment, paper and charcoal), detailed hand-cut fabric and paper cut-outs to Ball’s first sculptures made of ply, steel and brass; some of which are burnt with an industrial flamethrower.
In this exhibition, Ball rips, burns and erodes painstaking compositions that each take several months to produce. By incorporating for the first time these previously unprecedented levels of risk, the artist’s typically precise processes merge with newly expressive experiments forming powerful works caught on an unstable edge between release and restraint, accumulation and erasure.
To view a clip about the making of the work please click here and for the installation video click here.
To read an interview about the exhibition click here.
One and Other: Encounter Contemporary, London
UK,
2017
Encounter Contemporary is pleased to present One and Other, a dual exhibition of work by leading contemporary British artists: painter Adam Ball (1977) and sculptor Oliver Barratt (1962). In their abstract works, both artists meditate on the complex interactions between different forms, drawing attention to points of contact and the animated spaces between. Brought together for the first time, these distinct artistic practices generate a compelling dialogue on the art of relation.
Absolute Zero: Pharos Arts Foundation touring, UK
2016
The Pharos Arts Foundation is pleased to present Absolute Zero touring to Eton College, Windsor. The exhibition includes signature minimal paper cut-outs, coloured fabric cut-outs and new raw pigment paintings. This recent body of work has been evolving since it was first exhibited at the Goss-Michael Foundation and the Bait Al Zubair Museum in 2015. The exhibition was first shown at The Pharos Arts Foundation in Nicosia from 28 September until 2 November 2016, before touring to the UK to be exhibited from 12th November until 12th December 2016.
Absolute Zero: Pharos Arts Foundation, Nicosia
2016
The Pharos Arts Foundation is pleased to present Absolute Zero, the first solo show from artist Adam Ball in Cyprus. The exhibition includes signature minimal paper cut-outs, coloured fabric cut-outs and new raw pigment paintings. This recent body of work has been evolving since it was first exhibited at the Goss-Michael Foundation and the Bait Al Zubair Museum in 2015. The exhibition will be on show from 28 September until 2 November 2016, before touring to the UK to be exhibited at Eton College, Windsor from 12th November until 12th December 2016.
Elemental: Bait Al Zubair Museum, Muscat, Oman
2015
The Bait Al Zubair Museum showcased a selection of recent work including paintings, handcrafted paper cutouts and a light box. The large charcoal cutout drawing, Fearless, (222 x 266 cm) first exhibited at The Goss-Michael Foundation was installed in the gallery, as well as The Living Other, the first limited edition etching by the artist.
The exhibition will also include a selection of some of Ball’s signature cutouts and his recent design for the iconic Desert Boot. As part of his collaboration with global artists initiative Clarks:Rebooted, he created a limited edition boot which was released in 2015 in support of The HALO Trust.
The Space Between: Goss-Michael Foundation
Dallas, US,
2014
The Space Between, curated by The Future Tense, sees Ball working with a new sense of scale and urgency as he confronts mankind’s inexorable desire for progress. Through an intensive process of layering and combining source material including lab-produced slides of his own DNA, man-made mechanical parts and images from the natural world, the artist has created his own unique visual language.
“Whilst researching this body of work I was struck both by the way many of the building blocks of life – be they natural or man made – could be distilled to simple motifs, and how by playing with context and scale, everything can conceivably be interchangeable. By choosing how to layer, combine and modify these technically incompatible images, and by working predominately in charcoal and on a large scale, I found I could respond almost instinctively, blurring the boundaries between laboratory, studio and gallery.”
Three new works were exhibited at the London Art Fair in 2019 at the entrance to the fair with Encounter Contemporary, including a large scale paper cut-out installed directly on the wall.
“London Art Fair showcases the most exceptional modern and contemporary art of our time. The Fair is an established destination for both museum quality modern and contemporary work, nurturing collecting at all levels, from prints and editions, to major works by internationally renowned artists.”
Re:Define: Dallas Contemporary Museum
US,
2014
For this group exhibition at The Dallas Contemporary Museum, Adam Ball installed a large-scale DNA mural alongside a paper cut-out on white gold, which following the exhibition, was auctioned to raise a record $81,000 for the MTV Staying Alive Foundation. Other works, by amongst others Damien Hirst, Richard Phillips, Sarah Lucas, Julian Schnabel and Jim Lambie raised a total of over $2m. The exhibition was co-curated by Peter Doroshenko and Future Tense.
Salle d'attente: Galerie Laurent Mueller, Paris
2013
Duet: Galleria Xavier Fiol, Palma
2012
A joint exhibition with South American photographer Cecilia Paredes for Palma Photo.
This Is London: Shizaru Gallery, London
2012
This Is London featured a cross section of contemporary art, centered on some of London’s eccentric heritage, the included 46 artists span an impressive array of mediums and processes. As a nod to the important contribution that is made by London’s community of gallerists, Shizaru invited a selection of galleries and collaborators to select key London based artists to create an unprecedented opportunity to see some of the most exciting names in contemporary art. Artists include Paul Noble, Michael Craig-Martin, Banksy and Keith Coventry.
Re:Define: Goss-Michael Foundation, Dallas, US
2011
“Hosted at the Goss-Michael Foundation and curated by The Future Tense, RE:DEFINE consisted of 30 works exhibited and then auctioned by Simon de Pury, Chairman of Phillips de Pury & Company. 100% of the proceeds from the auction went to the MTV Staying Alive Foundation. Consisting of an eclectic roster of 30 original works from some of the world’s most exciting, dynamic and sometimes controversial artists, including Damien Hirst, Tracey Emin, Peter Blake and Gavin Turk. Testament to the quality of all the works on show, the auction raised $770,000.”
Spectra: Londonewcastle Project Space, London
Unnatural Selection: Londonewcastle Project Space, London