GALLERY 2
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GALLERY 2
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A SOLO EXHIBITION BY TONI-ANN BALLENDEN Phoenix Rising will be Ballenden’s second solo exhibition with Gallery 2, her first being city of gold - Cash for Scrap in March 2019. Ballenden’s art has grown and developed throughout her career, shifting between figurative and abstract work. Currently she is engaged in a process of cutting and destroying old unresolved works which, she then reconstructs into new works in their own right.
ARTIST STATEMENT Inside my studio are plastic boxes filled with cut up unresolved works, waiting for the chance to be reconstructed, art waiting to find a place in the world.
“Art, no less than wisdom, waits on life” - Louis Bourgeois.
The obsessive cutting in the process of my work is cathartic helping me to cope with the challenges in my life. Many artists have inspired me over the years but the real reason for my process is very personal. Feeling undervalued as a child became an ongoing influence in my making process as an adult. My history in art is figurative, drawings not good enough were burnt or cut up violently. I consistently destroyed my work and threw it away. In 2015 I received a residency at The Bag Factory, an experience that led my work into abstraction, I found a way to use my destructive process as a more positive creative journey, cutting up failed works and reassembling them into the abstract works I produce today.
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GALLERY 2
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GALLERY 2
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Broken Angel Wing, mixed media, 90 x 93cm, 2021
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GALLERY 2
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GALLERY 2
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Phoenix Rising, mixed media, 140 x 95.5cm, 2021
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GALLERY 2
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Lattice, mixed media, 90 x 90cm, 2019, Framed
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GALLERY 2
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Their Pillow, Mixed Media Canvas Pillow, 45 x 70cm, 2021
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GALLERY 2
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Her Pillow, Mixed Media Canvas Pillow, 45 x 70cm, 2021
His Pillow, Mixed Media Canvas Pillow, 45 x 70cm, 2021
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GALLERY 2
info@gallery2.co.za | www.gallery2.co.za
My Pillow, Mixed Media Canvas Pillow, 45 x 70cm, 2021
Your Pillow, Mixed Media Canvas Pillow, 45 x 70cm, 2021
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GALLERY 2
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GALLERY 2
info@gallery2.co.za | www.gallery2.co.za
Swimming Pool, mixed media, 79 x 77cm, 2021
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GALLERY 2
info@gallery2.co.za | www.gallery2.co.za
Abstract Johannesburg, mixed media, 79 x 77cm
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GALLERY 2
info@gallery2.co.za | www.gallery2.co.za
Textures and Text, mixed media, 100 x 100cm, 2019
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GALLERY 2
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GALLERY 2
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Shattered Wings, mixed media, 120 x 153cm, 2019, Framed
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GALLERY 2
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GALLERY 2
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Abstract Squares, mixed media, 110 x 81cm, 2021
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GALLERY 2
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GALLERY 2
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Abstract with Blue, mixed media, 88.5 x 87.5cm, 2021
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GALLERY 2
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Abstract with Red, mixed media, 98 x 68cm, 2021
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GALLERY 2
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GALLERY 2
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