Ball, Derek
DEREK BALL
DEREK BALL
1966 Honours Diploma in Painting, Elam, University of Auckland
1968 Frances Hodgkins Fellowship, University of Otago
1970 – 72 Taught at College of Further Education, England
1972 – 74 Master of Fine Arts Degree, San Francisco Art Institute
1978 – 2002 Senior Lecturer in charge of Sculpture, Otago Polytechnic School of Art
Selected Solo Exhibitions
1968 Otago Museum
1972 Peterloo Gallery, Manchester
1976 Victoria University of Wellington
1978 Bosshard Galleries, Dunedin
1979 Denis Cohn Gallery, Auckland
1987 Southern Cross Gallery, Wellington
1989 Dunedin Public Art Gallery survey show “A Decade of Sculpture”
1995 CSA Gallery, Christchurch
1998 Eastern Southland Gallery, Gore
2006 Nelson Provincial Museum
2008 Eastern Southland Gallery, Gore
New Zealand: a land of majestic landscape and inventive people. This show encapsulates both. The ever inventive Derek Ball has synthetically frozen organic land- and skyscapes into free standing table sculptures made of cast resin.
Derek Ball has been at the cutting edge of plastic arts since the 60’s when plastic was considered THE wonder substance of the future. It still is an incredible medium but the public view of petrochemicals in general has changed dramatically, and as a result Derek has not yet fully achieved the acclaim of some of his glass contemporaries.
Derek is what most artists wish to be, that is a magician who casts spells on visual perception. David Eggleton in his 2009 article in Art New Zealand notes that Derek is a sculptor of seeing rather than of touch and of his work he states, “As you gaze, when does the real turn into the unreal? When does what seemed solid suddenly turn illusionary? How can sculpture hold onto form when perception itself is a kind of visual trick?”
Derek has created many significant public works, mostly for the lucky South Island population, including the 7 walled, 168 panelled Gallery of Pseudoscopic Faces in Wanaka, where larger than life vacuum formed busts of famous personalities, like Einstein and Mandela, seem to follow you around the room as you move. A truly unique and exciting experience for your senses.
I believe one of the responsibilities of the Artist is to create works that inspire. This is something Derek’s work does in abundance. It is inventive, fun and still affordable.
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