Sydney Ball: Colour and Form: Works on paper from the Estate 1965-2017

By Joanna Strumpf

Sydney Ball is widely considered a pioneer in Australian Abstraction and his long and impressive career has had a formidable impact on Australian art. Definitively a colourist, Ball spent his formative years living and studying in New York at the Art Students League under Theodoros Stamos, one of the ‘irascible eighteen’, which also included Mark Rothko and Willem de Kooning. Ball’s oeuvre is expansive and diverse, with each series marked by a monumental and dynamic change. All, however, share the prerogative to investigate the possibilities of colour and form; from the lyrical abstraction that defines his Stain paintings to the architectonic coloured forms of his famed Modular works. Ball continued to ambitiously push the limits of his own practice to greater heights while also having significant relevance as a contemporary Australian artist.

Sydney Ball, 'Lyris' (detail), 2014 acrylic on handmade paper, 87.5 x 87.5 cm (framed)

This exhibition investigates Ball’s great love of paper and includes rare works from the 1960s and 70s—including early drawings from his Canto series and prints from both his Persian and Stain series. The exhibition will also feature more recent works which informed Ball’s iconic Infinex series begun in 2010. These pivotal works spanning the artist’s career are statements of pure colour and form, shown for the very first time at Sullivan+Strumpf, Sydney in 2022.

Exhibition: 'Colour and Form: Works on paper from the Estate 1965-2017', May 5 - May 21 2022 at Sullivan+Strumpf Sydney