Sydney Ball Biography

In 1967 Ball began a series of drawings for a new collection of paintings consonant with the tenets of Minimalist art, an abstract movement that developed in America in the 1960s and was characterised by the use of simple geometric shapes. Ball's 'Modular' series, of which Black reveal, 1968-69, is a prime example, explored the sculptural potential of colour and the way negative space could be included as a part of a painting. Producing custom-made canvases that incorporated the use of industrial materials and techniques, Ball's modular paintings fuse the mediums of sculpture and painting. The individual works often combine angular sections of matte acrylic on canvas with geometric plywood panels that are finished in a reflective enamel gloss. Though the works are most often displayed in a conventional manner, hung on the gallery walls, Ball's exploratory sketches indicate that some of them were conceived of as floor-based pieces, a further indication of their hybrid nature. For the 21st Biennale of Sydney at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Black reveal is exhibited alongside Ball's 'Modular sketches', a series of fourteen preparatory studies on paper. These are accompanied by three of Ball's sketchbooks; the detailed pages providing further insight into the artist's captivation with form, colour and light.

Tai Spruyt and Stephanie Berlangieri | Biennale of Sydney Exhibition Team | 2018