Barry X Ball

Barry X Ball

Museum of 18th Century Venice, Ca’ Rezzonico

Barry X Ball, “Envy,” 2008–2010. Golden Honeycomb Calcite, 22 x 17-1/4 x 9-1/2 inches. Private Collection, Basel, Switzerland. Barry X Ball, “Purity”, 2008–2009. Golden Honeycomb Calcite, 24 x 16-1/2 x 11-1/4 inches.
Private Collection, London, UK.
Sala del Trono, Ca’ Rezzonico.. Photo courtesy of Francesco Allegretto.

May 29, 2011

Barry X Ball
Portraits and Masterpieces
4 June–11 September 2011

Press vernissage
1–2–3 June from 10:00 to 17:00Museum of 18th Century Venice, Ca’ Rezzonico
Collateral Event of the 54th International Art Exhibition – la Biennale di Venezia
Dorsoduro 3136, Venice

www.museiciviciveneziani.it

In conjunction with the 54th International Art Exhibition – la Biennale di Venezia, Ca’ Rezzonico presents Portraits and Masterpieces, a solo show of American sculptor Barry X Ball, curated by Dr. Laura Mattioli. Ball’s work incorporates both the traditional and the contemporary, directly engaging the history of art while stretching the boundaries of technique.

In his recent work, Ball reinvigorates the age-old tradition of figurative stone sculpture through the use of unconventional stones and methods. He employs a complex array of equipment and procedures to realize his sculptures, ranging from the cutting edge to the traditional, from 3-dimensional scanning, virtual modeling, and computer-controlled milling to hyper detailed hand carving and polishing. Ball’s sculptures, although paying reverent homage to their historical antecedents, are completely new.

Portraits and Masterpieces will be the largest exhibition of the artist’s work to date, with 24 sculptures loaned from collections in the U.S. and Europe installed in 19 rooms on three floors. The sculptures have been carefully selected to interact with particular Ca’ Rezzonico room environments, creating a lush progression of site-specific installations. Two of the works in the exhibition, Purity and Envy, were inspired by the Baroque-era sculptures in the permanent collection of the museum: Antonio Corradini’s Dama Velata and Giusto Le Court’s La Invidia. Also included will be the artist’s monumental Sleeping Hermaphrodite (realized with the cooperation of the Musée du Louvre in Paris), a selection of his portrait sculptures, and three works from his Scholars’ Rocks series.

An accompanying book, published by Charta Editions of Milan, will include photographs of Ball’s sculptures at Ca’ Rezzonico, an interview, and essays by several leading international scholars and critics including Jean-Pierre Criqui, Mario Diacono, Elena Forin, Laura Mattioli, Bob Nickas, Gianluca Poldi, and Giandomenico Romanelli.

Ca’ Rezzonico is located at Dorsoduro 3136, 30123 Venice – vaporetto stop Ca’ Rezzonico.

Artist Biography
Barry X Ball was born in 1955 in Pasadena, CA and lives and works in New York. His work can be found in the collections of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, The Norton Museum of Art, The Maramotti Collection, Magasin 3 Stockholm Konsthall, The Berlingieri Collection, The Olbricht Collection, and The Panza Collection, among others. Solo museum exhibitions of his work have been held at SITE Santa Fe in New Mexico (2007), PS1 in New York (2004), Le Printemps de Septembre in Toulouse, France (2004), Magasin 3 Stockholm Konsthall in Sweden (1993), and Domaine de Kerguéhennec in Bignan, France (1990). He is represented by Sperone Westwater in New York, Galleria Michela Rizzo in Venice, and Galerie Nathalie Obadia in Paris.

Exhibition Support
This exhibition has received generous support from Mihail S. Lari and Scott E. Murray, Roberto and Mary Ellen Marziale, Jerome L. and Ellen Stern, TOR ART & C. s.n.c., Zane Bennett Contemporary Art, and an anonymous donor.

Additional support has been provided by Dudley and Michael Del Balso, Bobbie Foshay, Jerry and Linda Janger, Nancy and Robert Magoon, Unocad s.r.l., and anonymous donors

Institutional Partner
Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia

Press Contacts:
Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia:
Riccardo Bon: press@fmcvenezia.it
tel. +39 0412715921

AE Comunicazione d’Impresa
Adele Bandera: adele.bandera@aemedia.com; Spazia Fiori: spazia.fiori@aemedia.com
tel. +39 02760921

Blue Medium Inc. (English-speaking media inquires)
Elizabeth Reina-Longoria: elizabeth@bluemedium.com
tel: +1-212-675-1800

Galleria Michela Rizzo:
info@galleriamichelarizzo.net
tel: +39 041 241 3006

Barry X Ball. Portraits and Masterpieces, Museum of 18th Century Venice, Ca’ Rezzonico, Collateral Event of the 54th International Art Exhibition – la Biennale di Venezia

4 June–11 September 2011

GENERAL INFORMATION

Address: Ca’ Rezzonico – Museum of 18th Century Venice, Dorsoduro 3136, Venezia

Press vernissage: 1, 2, 3 June from 10:00 to 17:00

Opening hours: 10/18 (ticket office 10/17) – closed on Tuesdays

FURTHER INFORMATION
www.museiciviciveneziani.it
info@fmcvenezia.it
call center 848082000 (calling from Italy)
+3904142730892 (calling from abroad)

Institutional Partner
Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia

Barry X Ball
Advertisement
RSVP
RSVP for Barry X Ball
Museum of 18th Century Venice, Ca’ Rezzonico
May 29, 2011

Thank you for your RSVP.

Museum of 18th Century Venice, Ca’ Rezzonico will be in touch.

Subscribe

e-flux announcements are emailed press releases for art exhibitions from all over the world.

Agenda delivers news from galleries, art spaces, and publications, while Criticism publishes reviews of exhibitions and books.

Architecture announcements cover current architecture and design projects, symposia, exhibitions, and publications from all over the world.

Film announcements are newsletters about screenings, film festivals, and exhibitions of moving image.

Education announces academic employment opportunities, calls for applications, symposia, publications, exhibitions, and educational programs.

Sign up to receive information about events organized by e-flux at e-flux Screening Room, Bar Laika, or elsewhere.

I have read e-flux’s privacy policy and agree that e-flux may send me announcements to the email address entered above and that my data will be processed for this purpose in accordance with e-flux’s privacy policy*

Thank you for your interest in e-flux. Check your inbox to confirm your subscription.