Cecil Balmond
Cecil Balmond b. Sri Lanka 1943 . Lives and works in London
Widely considered to be one of the most influential creators of his generation, Cecil Balmond successfully occupies multiple roles as artist, designer, architect, engineer, theoretician and writer. His approach is one of investigation and draws on 40 years of research into diverse forms. Through a unique interrogation of science, geometry and the structure of the nonlinear, Balmond radically reorganises space and creates new horizons in art and architecture. Balmond uses vital sources from music, mathematics and nature to translate rhythms and information into abstract form that has a unique seriality. The ever changing dynamic influences the work with a compelling vitality.
Former deputy chairman of Arup, Balmond runs his research-led practise, Balmond Studio, in London with a presence in Hong Kong and Colombo. Ongoing projects include a national monument to mark the England/Scotland border crossing at Gretna Green called Star of Caledonia, for which Cecil is the winning artist, and an immersive installation for a hotel in St Tropez. Balmond has exhibited internationally including solo shows in Japan, France, Denmark and Chicago. Recently he codesigned the ArcelorMittal Orbit with Anish Kapoor for the London 2012 Olympics.
Selected Solo Exhibitions 2011 Nebula, Targetti & Louis Poulsen showroom, Sapzio Luce, Milan Italy 2010 Element, Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery, Japan In-Site, Casa da Arquitectura, Matosinhoa, Portugal 2009 Forum 64, Carnegie Art Museum, Pittsburgh, PA 2008 Solid Void, Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts, Chicago, IL USA, September – June 2009 2007 Frontiers of Architecture, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Øresund, Denmark, June – November 2006 H_edge , Artists Space, New York, NY USA, September – October 2004 Informal, Arc en Reve, Bordeaux, France, January – May 1996 Sport Stadion Chemnitz 2002, Aedes Galerie, Berlin, Germany, February Selected Publc Art Commissions/Projects 2014 ”Star of Caledonia,” (Public Art Commission) Scotland/England Border, Competition, UK in progress 2012 “ArcelorMittal Orbit,” 400 ft. tower, (Public Art Commission) Cecil Balmond and Anish Kapoor– London Olympic Park “Snow Words,” (Public Art Commission) Crime Detection Lab, Public Art Commission, Anchorage, Alaska, USA “net_Work,” (Public Art Commission) Engineering Services Building, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada 2011 “Gateway Galaxy” Casper College Art Commission, Wyoming, USA 2010 “Temenos,” (Public Art Commission) Anish Kapoor and Cecil Balmond, Middlesbrough UK 2007 Tees Valley Giants, UK, (Public Art Commission) Cable Net Sculpture, Middlehaven Anish Kapoor and Cecil Balmond Tees Valley Giants, UK, (Public Art Commission) Victoria Harbour Bridge, Hartlepool Anish Kapoor and Cecil Balmond Sculpture for Alan Gibbs, (Public Art Commission) The Farm, Auckland, New Zealand Anish Kapoor and Cecil Balmond 2006 Serpentine Pavilion, London, UK, Rem Koolhaas and Cecil Balmond 2002 Serpentine Pavilion, London, UK, Architect: Toyo Ito and Cecil Balmond 2001 Serpentine Pavilion, London, UK, Architect: Daniel Libeskind and Cecil Balmond
Prizes and Awards Mies van der Rohe Award, for Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2005, London, UK 2006 RIBA Charles Jencks Award for Theory in Practice, 2003 Short listed for The Prince Philip Designers Prize 2005, 2012 Royal London House, City of London, Recipient of several awards Public Art Network Top 50 Public Artwork of 2012 for Snow Words, Alaska Financial Times Award, Carlsberg Brewery, Northampton, UK, Architect: Knud Munk 1980. Honoured again in 2005 Nationale Staalprijs, Telecommunicatiestand PTT, Netherlands, Architect: Architektenburo Wintermans, Eindhoven1988 Structural Steel Design Award, Ropemaker Place, London 1994 Gengo Matsui Prize, 2002 Arup Fellow, 2004 Sir Banister Fletcher Prize for the best book of the year on Architecture, 2005 Nominated for European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture, Qualifications MSc, Imperial College, London, 1970 DIC, Imperial College, London, 1970 BSc, University of Southampton, 1965 Doctor of Science (Engineering) (honoris causa), University of London, 2009
Element Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery 2010
Forum 64 Carnegie Museum of Fine Art Pittsburgh US 2011
Solid Void Graham Foundation Chicago 2008
Frontiers Louisiana Museum of Modern Art Denmark 2007
Star of Caledonia Landmark on the Scottish Border Gretna 2014 Landform designed by Charles Jenks
Snow Words Light Installation Alaska 2012
Orbit Cecil Balmond and Anish Kapoor London 2012
Temenos Tees Valley Giants, Middlesbrough Made in collaboration with Anish Kapoor 2010
Selected Pavilions Serpentine Gallery London 2000 - Present
2006, Cecil Balmond & Rem Koolhaas
2002, Cecil Balmond & Toyo Ito
2001, Cecil Balmond & Daniel Libeskind
Nexus Tapestry 220 x 128 cm 2012
Sigma 3D Printed Brass coated in Black Rhodium 22 x 22 x 22cm 2012 - Present
Tangents Photopolymer Prints on Paper 64.5 x 50 cm Edition on 25 2013
Analemma Video Animation 2’08” 2012
Alternative Geometry Various Digital Prints 2013