Adam Ball
Remnants and Realisations
18 September - 8 October
Encounter presents Remnants and Realisation, a major exhibition by leading contemporary British artist Adam Ball (1977). Opening on the 17th September, Remnants and Realisation has been chosen as the first exhibition to be held in the newly developed 4,600 sq. ft gallery of the recently refurbished Grade II listed Smithson building (formerly known as the Economist building). Situated in the heart of St James’s contemporary art district, the exhibition will run until the 8th October to coincide with Frieze London and London Design Festival.
After two years in the making, the show celebrates an energetic new body of work including 15 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.
Ball’s compositions are often the result of closely observed and rigorously researched source material ranging from images of his own DNA to mechanical systems and digital mappings of human movement. This melting pot of natural and technological visual stimuli deepens and builds before being reduced and transcribed into the elusive abstractions which form the basis of Ball’s intricate and evocative works.
In Remnants and Realisation, 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.
Remnants and Realisation is Ball’s first significant exhibition since his ‘One and Other’ exhibition with Encounter Contemporary in 2017. He has also exhibited in major galleries and institutions worldwide from Paul Kasmin Gallery (New York) to Institute of Contemporary Art (London), Goss Michael Foundation (Dallas) to Bait Al Zubair Museum (Oman). The artist came to international prominence in 2002 after installing a 32ft high painting in London’s Golden Square and is currently working (in collaboration with HOK International and FutureCity) on a 3 x 16 metre public lightbox to be permanently installed in Cambridge. In November this year a monumental artwork by Ball will be exhibited in London Bridge as part of Annin Arts ‘Billboard Project’.
The Remnants and Realisation exhibition opens on 17th September and is free to attend. A private view of the exhibition will take place on 20th September from 6.00 until 8.30pm.
Adam Ball: Born in 1977, Adam lives and works in London and has exhibited in galleries internationally, including Paul Kasmin Gallery, New York; Dallas Contemporary, US; Goss-Michael Foundation, Dallas; Gagosian Gallery, New York; galerie laurent mueller, Paris; ARCO Madrid; Centre of Contemporary Art, Bahrain; Bait Al Zubair Museum, Oman; Pharos Arts Foundation, Cyprus; The Jerwood Space, London; ICA, London and CCA, Glasgow.
Previous reviews and features include; The Times, The Daily Telegraph, The Sunday Telegraph, The Independent, The Guardian, The Observer, The Times Magazine, The Independent Magazine, The Observer Magazine, The Evening Standard Magazine, Esquire, Elle, Elle Decor, Time Out, La Repubblica, Times of Oman, Modern Painters, Art Review, Art and Auction and BBC TV, ITV, Channel 5, Channel 8 (US) and BBC Radio.
Encounter Contemporary: Founded in 2013 by Alexander Caspari and Jordan Harris, Encounter Contemporary is a curatorial platform, dealership and contemporary art consultancy. The company focuses on promoting a diverse and innovative group of established and emerging contemporary artists who are transforming the way art is made and presented. We run an international ‘moving’ exhibition program curating academically rigorous, ambitious and immersive shows. Working closely with both long standing and new collectors on an ongoing basis our aim is to support critical art practice internationally.