- Translucent Golden Honeycomb calcite, aluminum, stainless steel, wood, acrylic lacquer, steel, nylon, plastic, 10 1/4 x 5 1/4 x 5 3/8 in. (26 x 13.3 x 13.7 cm) Salon 94, New York © Barry X Ball, Photo courtesy Barry X Ball Studio
- Mexican onyx, Belgian black marble, 41 1/2 x 22 x 14 in. (105.4 x 55.9 x 35.6 cm) Collection of Ellen Stern © Barry X Ball, Photo courtesy Barry X Ball Studio
Barry X Ball, habitually covered in our culture section, has managed to become a modernly celebrated artist whilst eschewing the zeitgeist of pop-art fascination, and deservedly so. While many artists either have trouble relinquishing their classical tendencies of structure, or venture to other end of the spectrum of markedly modern and abstract, Ball manages to perfectly mesh their concepts into decidedly remarkable amalgamations, blending computer technology with hand carved details.
To mark the sculptor’s first major museum survey in the United States, the Nasher Sculpture Center in Dallas is exhibiting a collection of his sculptural works from the 1990s to present. Luckily for those who will reasonably not make such a trip during a pandemic, this also sees the museum’s fifth installment of FM Forward, the gallery’s digital platform. The exhibition focuses on his attempt at exploring classical subject matters with non-traditional materials, composed of Portraits, a series of busts formed from digital scans of friends and colleagues, and Masterpieces, reimaginings of both classical and modernist works.
Barry X Ball: Remaking Sculpture, until January 3, 2021 at the Nasher Sculpture Center in Dallas. All images courtesy of the museum.
- Translucent pink Iranian onyx, 15 1/4 x 12 13/16 x 7 5/8 in. (38.8 x 32.5 x 19.4 cm) Courtesy of the Artist and Fergus McCaffrey – New York, Tokyo, St. Barth © Barry X Ball. Photo courtesy Barry X Ball Studio
- Translucent “wounded” Mexican onyx, 11 1/2 x 7 3/8 x 9 in. (29.2 x 18.8 x 22.8 cm) Courtesy of the Artist and Fergus McCaffrey – New York, Tokyo, St. Barth © Barry X Ball. Photo courtesy Barry X Ball Studio