ABOUT DEBORAH BELL

Deborah Bell was born in 1957 in Johannesburg, South Africa. She is one of South Africa’s most celebrated contemporary artists. She works in a range of media on canvas and paper, produces drypoint etchings and large-scale bronzes. Her earlier more political work has given way to a broader, deeper investigation into the border been mortality and immortality, matter and spirit, presence and absence, the quotidian and the mythic, the grounded and transcendent. In recent years she has developed an immediately recognisable visual language, her images simple, stark, symbolic – grounded, silent, still, poised. As Ricky Burnett has stated: at the very edge of time.

In her iconography she draws from a range of cultures (including African, Chinese, Egyptian, Greek, early Christian and European) and a range of philosophies (especially the Buddhist preoccupation with stillness and the shedding of attachment and the ego) and psychologies (more Jung than Freud) – but her work digs deeper, arriving finally out of an internal and personal place that Bell occupies in the world as an artist, a woman and an explorer. A central task is to make the unknown present – apprehended in a series of powerful images that are both of her and beyond her. Her earlier figures, characterised by entrapment (in the country, in the body), have given away to figures embodying the seeker – often accompanied by boats, horses, chariots. Images of lions, dogs, horses and angels recur. These are often intermediary figures between the physical world and a higher more spiritual realm. They are also aspects of herself – the powerful daemons that reside in all of us, which are often accompanied by solitary female figures, some full of assertive confidence, others more vulnerable and less sure of their agency. Bell is interested in the half-formed image – the unwritten, as yet unformed spaces we move towards in our quest for self-knowledge. More recent work has also become more concerned with surrender – to the higher self, the mystery of the universe, the simplicity of the present. All her art, she has stated, works towards the Zen mark: the single gesture of absolute presence. Her quest is ongoing – and has left in its wake a series of hugely powerful, totemic images from what Yeats called Spiritus Mundi.

Deborah Bell has worked with a great variety of media during her career and has collaborated on various historically important projects with contemporaries such as William Kentridge and Robert Hodgins. Bell received her BAFA (Hons) and MFA degrees at the University of Witwatersrand and has been an artist working abroad and a lecturer at various South African tertiary institutions, including the University of the Witwatersrand. Bell lives and works from her studio in Magaliesburg, as well as being a collaborator at the David Krut studios on several projects.

SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2019    ‘ENTHRONED’, EVERARD READ, CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA2016    ‘DREAMS OF IMMORTALITY’, CIRCA GALLERY, LONDON, UK
2015    ‘DREAMS OF IMMORTALITY’, EVERARD READ GALLERY, CAPE TOWN & JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA

2015    ‘RENUNCIATION’, DAVID KRUT, JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA

2013    ‘WHAT WOULD WISDOM SAY TO YOU DARK HEART?’, EVERARD READ GALLERY, CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA

2012    ‘A FAR COUNTRY’, JOHN MARTIN GALLERY, LONDON & GLYDEBOURNE OPERA FESTIVAL, LONDON, UK

2011    ‘PRESENCE’, CIRCA & EVERARD READ GALLERY, JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA
2010    ‘ALCHEMY’, DAVID KRUT, JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA
2009    ‘FLUX’, GOODMAN GALLERY, CAPE TOWN, SOUTH

2009    AFRICAFLUX, GOODMAN GALLERY, CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA

2009    ‘COLLABORATIONS’, DAVID KRUT, JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA
2007    ‘OBJECTS OF POWER: MEMORY OF METAL, MEMORY OF WOOD’, GOODMAN GALLERY, JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA

2005-6‘CROSSINGS AND MONUMENTS’, OLIEWENHUIS MUSEUM, BLOEMFONTEIN, SOUTH AFRICA
2005    ‘CROSSINGS AND MONUMENTS’, AARDKLOP FESTIVAL POTCHEFSTROOM UNIVERSITY LIBRARY GALLERY, POTCHEFSTROOM, SOUTH AFRICA

2004    ‘SENTINELS’, GOODMAN GALLERY, JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA
2002    ‘UNEARTHED’, JOAO FERREIRA GALLERY, CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA
2001    UNEARTHED, THE GOODMAN GALLERY, JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA
2000    ‘THE JOURNEY HOME’, ART FIRST, LONDON, UK
1998    ‘DISPLACEMENTS’, GOODMAN GALLERY, JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA
1995    ‘MUSES AND LAMENTATIONS’, GOODMAN GALLERY, JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA
1989    DEBORAH BELL, POTCHEFSTROOM MUSEUM, SOUTH AFRICA
1982    DEBORAH BELL, MARKET GALLERY, JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA

TWO/THREE PERSON EXHIBITIONS

1997    COLLABORATIONS: 1986-1997 (11 YEARS OF COLLABORATIVE PROJECTS BETWEEN ARTISTS KENTRIDGE, HODGENS AND BELL) AT THE JOHANNESBURG ART GALLERY, IN    ASSOCIATION WITH THE FNB VITA AWARDS
1997    ‘UB101: A PORTFOLIO OF ETCHINGS’, DONE IN CONJUNCTION WITH KENTRIDGE AND HODGINS. EXHIBITED AT GRAHAMSTOWN FESTIVAL AND THE GERTRUDE POSEL GALLERY. EXHIBITION CURATED BY FIONA RANKIN-SMITH

1994   ‘MEMO’, INSTALLATION WITH VIDEO AT THE GRAHAMSTOWN FESTIVAL IN COLLABORATION WITH WILLIAM    KENTRIDGE AND ROBERT HODGINS
1994    ‘LAMENTATIONS’, ART FIRST, CORK STREET. LONDON, UK
1993    EASING THE PASSING (OF THE HOURS), GOODMAN GALLERY, JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA
1993    ‘PORTRAITS IN THE ROUND’, CERAMIC EXHIBITION IN COLLABORATION WITH WILLIAM KENTRIDGE AND RETIEF VAN WYK AT THE GOODMAN GALLERY,  JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA
1992    ‘EASING THE PASSING (OF THE HOURS)’, WATERFRONT, CAPE TOWN. COMPUTER ANIMATION, LASER PRINTS AND DRAWINGS IN COLLABORATION WITH WILLIAM KENTRIDGE AND ROBERT HODGINS
1991    ‘LITTLE MORALS’, A PORTFOLIO OF ETCHINGS DONE IN CONJUNCTION WITH HODGINS AND KENTRIDGE, EXHIBITED AT THE CASSIERER GALLERY, JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA

1991    ‘LITTLE MORALS’, GALLERY INTERNATIONAL CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA

1991    ‘LITTLE MORALS’, TAKING LIBERTIES, DURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA
1988    EXHIBITED WITH JENNY STADLER AND NAGEL AT THE GOODMAN GALLERY, JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA
1987    HOGARTH IN JOHANNESBURG, A PORTFOLIO OF ETCHINGS DONE IN CONJUNCTION WITH HODGINS AND KENTRIDGE. (THIS EXHIBITION TRAVELLED TO ALL THE MAJOR CENTRES IN SOUTH AFRICA)

1985    MAFA EXHIBITION, REMBRANDT GALLERY, MILNER PARK, JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA
1983    EXHIBITED WITH HODGINS AND SASSOON, CARRIAGE HOUSE GALLERY, USA

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2019    ‘MODERN MASTERS III’, EBONY/CURATED, CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA

2018    CAPE TOWN ART FAIR, EVERARD READ, CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA

2018    ‘MODERN MASTERS II’, EBONY/CURATED, CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA
2016    OPENING GROUP EXHIBITION, CIRCA GALLERY, LONDON, UK

2016    ‘WINTER COLLECTION’, EVERARD READ GALLERY, CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA
2015    ‘BRONZE, STEEL &  STONE’, EVERARD READ, JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA

2015    1:54 CONTEMPORARY AFRICAN ART FAIR, CIRCA GALLERY BOOTH, LONDON, UK
2015    FNB JO-BURG ART FAIR, EVERARD READ GALLERY BOOTH, JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA

2013    CENTENARY EXHIBITION, CIRCA & EVERARD READ, JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA
2012    ‘RAINBOW NATION: GROUP EXHIBITION OF SOUTH AFRICAN SCULPTORS’, MUSEUM BEELDEN AAN ZEE, DEN HAAGE, NETHERLANDS
2011    ‘HORSE: 60 SOUTH AFRICAN ARTISTS’, CURATED BY RICKY BURNETT, CIRCA & EVERARD READ, JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA

2010    ‘TWENTY’, 20 YEARS OF SA SCULPTURE, NIROX FOUNDATION, SOUTH AFRICA
2009    ‘CONTEMPORARY SCULPTURE IN THE LANDSCAPE’, NIROX FOUNDATION, SOUTH AFRICA
2007    ‘LIFT-OFF II’, GOODMAN GALLERY CAPE, CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA

2007    DAVID KRUT PRINT WORKSHOP, UNISA ART GALLERY, PRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICA
2005    ‘ART BASEL MIAMI BEACH’, MIAMI BEACH, USA, IN COLLABORATION WITH GOODMAN GALLERY, SOUTH AFRICA
2005    ‘WORKS ON PAPER’, COLLABORATIVE PRINTS FROM DAVID KRUT PRINT WORKSHOP, FRANCHISE GALLERY, JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA
2005    ‘DAVID KRUT COLLABORATIONS: 25 YEARS OF PRINTS AND MULTIPLES’, NATIONAL ARTS FESTIVAL, GRAHAMSTOWN, SOUTH AFRICA

2004    ‘EARTHWORKS/CLAYBODIES’, SASOL MUSEUM STELLENBOSCH UNIVERSITY, STELLENBOSCH, SOUTH AFRICA
2003    ‘EARTHWORKS/CLAYBODIES’, PRETORIA ART MUSEUM’, SOUTH AFRICA

2003    ‘EARTHWORKS/CLAYBODIES’, STANDARD BANK CENTRE GALLERY, JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA
2000    ‘ICONS FOR THE MILLENNIUM’, ATLANTA, USA
1999    ‘THE PAPER SHOW’, GOODMAN GALLERY, JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA

1999    ‘EMERGENCE’, NATIONAL ARTS FESTIVAL, GRAHAMSTOWN, SOUTH AFRICA

1999    ‘ARTERY’, A.V.A GALLERY, CAPE TOWN – IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE GOODMAN GALLERY, JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA

1999    ‘ARTISTS IN RESIDENCE’, STANDARD BANK NATIONAL ARTS FESTIVAL, 25TH ANNIVERSARY, GRAHAMSTOWN, SOUTH AFRICA

1998    ‘EARTH HUES’ – CONTEMPORARY AFRICAN ART, WORLD SPACE, WASHINGTON DC, USA
1997    IMAGES AND FORM: PRINTS, DRAWINGS AND SCULPTURE FROM SOUTHERN AFRICA AND NIGERIA, BRUNEI GALLERY, LONDON, UK

1997    UNIVERSITY OF LONDON AND EDINBURGH COLLEGE OF ART, UK

1997    ‘THE GENCOR COLLECTION’, SANDTON ART GALLERY, AND THE GRAHAMSTOWN FESTIVAL, SOUTH AFRICA

1997    KEMPTON PARK METROPOLITAN SUBSTRUCTURE FINE ARTS AWARD SHOW, KEMPTON PARK, SOUTH AFRICA

1997    ‘NEW ART FROM SOUTH AFRICA’, TALBOT RICE GALLERY, EDINBURGH, UK

1997    ‘LES ARTS DE LA RESISTANCE’, (FIN DE SIECLE A JOHANNESBURG), GALERIE CONVERGENCE, GALERIE

1997    JEAN CHRISTIAN FRADIN, GALERIE MICHEL LUNEAU, GALERIE LES PETIT MURS, NANTES, FRANCE

1997    ‘NOT QUITE A CHRISTMAS EXHIBITION’, GOODMAN GALLERY, JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA

1997    ‘CRAM’, A.V.A GALLERY, CAPE TOWN – IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE GOODMAN GALLERY, JOHANNESBURG

1996    ‘GAY RIGHTS: RITES, RE-WRITES’, TRAVELLING EXHIBITION, SOUTH AFRICA

1996    ‘GROUP SALON’, ROSE KORBER REPRESENTING ARTISTS AT THE BAY HOTEL, CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA

1996    ‘COMMON AND UNCOMMON GROUND: SOUTH AFRICAN ART TO ATLANTA’, CITY GALLERY EAST, ATLANTA, USA

1996    VITA AWARDS, JOHANNESBURG ART GALLERY, SOUTH AFRICA

1996    ‘TOMORROW IS NOW’, FIRST CANADIAN PLACE AND KNIGHTS GALLERIES INTERNATIONAL, TORONTO, CANADA

1996    ‘BARBER SIGNS’, THE STANDARD BANK GALLERY, JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA

1996    ‘RECENT DRAWINGS’, GALLERY ON TYRONE, JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA

1996    ‘CERAMICS BIENNALE’, SANDTON ART GALLERY, SOUTH AFRICA
1995    ‘THE BAG FACTORY: THE FIRST FIVE YEARS’, THE CIVIC THEATRE GALLERY, JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA

1995    ‘THE ART OF TEA’, KIM SACKS GALLERY, JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA

1995    ‘GROUP SALON’, ROSE KORBER REPRESENTING ARTISTS AT THE BAY HOTEL, CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA
1994    GROUP SHOW, NEWTOWN, JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA

1994    ‘ANYTHING BOXED’, GOODMAN GALLERY, JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA

1994    ‘SOUTH AFRICAN WORKS ON PAPER’, NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS, CHICAGO, USA

1993    GALLERY ON TYRONE, JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA

1993    VITA AWARDS, JOHANNESBURG ART GALLERY, SOUTH AFRICA

1993    MOMENTUM LIFE EXHIBITION, PRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICA

1993    ‘INTERNATIONS OF MILLENNIUM’, NEWTOWN GALLERY, JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA

1992    ‘ICA, 50 JOHANNESBURG ARTISTS’, JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA

1992    ‘PARIS: THE CATALYST, ALLIANCE FRANCAISE’, DURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA

1992    ‘LOOKING AT ART: LOOKING AT WATERCOLOURS’, GOODMAN GALLERY, JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA

1992    VITA AWARDS, JOHANNESBURG ART GALLERY, SOUTH AFRICA

1992    ‘WORKS MADE IN AUGUST’, NEWTOWN GALLERY, JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA
1991    CAPE TOWN TRIENNALE, SOUTH AFRICA

1991    ‘PAINTED PEOPLE: PAINTED SPACES’, NEWTOWN GALLERIES, JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA

1991    ‘HAND COLOURED GRAPHICS’, GOODMAN GALLERY, JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA

1991    ‘TINY TAPESTRY SHOW’, GOODMAN GALLERY, JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA

1990    ‘WOMEN CHOOSE WOMEN’, UNIVERSITY OF THE WITWATERSRAND, JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA

1990    ‘ART FROM SOUTH AFRICA’, MOMA, OXFORD, UK

1990    STANDARD BANK DRAWING COMPETITION, JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA
1989    VOLKSKAS ATELIER AWARD EXHIBITION, SOUTH AFRICAN VITA AWARDS, JOHANNESBURG ART GALLERY, SOUTH AFRICA

1989    ‘AFRICAN ENCOUNTERS’, DOME GALLERY, NEW YORK AND WASHINGTON, USA

1989    THE LITTLE BIG SHOW, GOODMAN GALLERY, JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA
1988    ‘CASA (CULTURE FOR ANOTHER SOUTH AFRICA),’ CONFERENCE IN AMSTERDAM, HOLLAND

1988    VOLKSKAS ATELIER AWARD EXHIBITION, SOUTH AFRICAN ASSOCIATION OF THE ARTS, PRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICA

1988    ‘100 ARTISTS PROTEST DETENTION WITHOUT TRIAL’, IN AID OF DPSC, MARKET THEATRE, JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA
1988    ARTISTS FOR HUMAN RIGHTS EXHIBITION, DURBAN EXHIBITION CENTRE, SOUTH AFRICA

1986    VOLKSKAS ATELIER AWARD EXHIBITION, SOUTH AFRICAN ASSOCIATION OF ARTS, PRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICA

1986    ‘4 UNISA LECTURERS’, BLOEMFONTEIN, SOUTH AFRICA

1986    ‘UNISA ART LECTURERS’, PRETORIA ART MUSEUM, SOUTH AFRICA
1985    ‘CAPE TOWN TRIENNALE NEW VISIONS’, MARKET GALLERY, JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA

1985    ‘11 FIGURATIVE ARTISTS’, MARKET GALLERY, JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA

AWARDS AND MERITS

APSA AWARD FOR THE BEST NEW SIGNATURE, CERAMICS BIENNALE, SOUTH AFRICA
MAMBA AWARD FOR THE MOST SUSTAINED ARTIST, SOUTH AFRICA
MERIT PRIZE WINNER, VOLKSKAS ATELIER, SOUTH AFRICA
VITA QUARTERLY AWARD, RUNNER-UP FOR MAIN AWARD, SOUTH AFRICA

SELECTED COLLECTIONS

BCE, JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA
BELL, DEWAR AND HALL, JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA
BHP BILLITON SOUTH AFRICA LTD.
BRISTOL MYERS SQUIBB CORP.
HARA MUSEUM, TOKYO, JAPAN
JOHANNESBURG ART GALLERY, SOUTH AFRICA
JOHANNESBURG CITY COUNCIL, SOUTH AFRICA
KING GEORGE VI ART GALLERY, PORT ELIZABETH, SOUTH AFRICA
LEGAL RESOURCES CENTRE, JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA
MTN ART INSTITUTE, JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA
MUSEUM OF MODERN ART, NEW YORK, USA
NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART, WASHINGTON, D.C, USA
OLIEWENHIUS MUSEUM, BLOEMFONTEIN, SOUTH AFRICA
PRETORIA ART MUSEUM, PRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICA
ROODEPOORT MUSEUM, JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA
SA NATIONAL GALLERY, CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA
SANLAM COLLECTION, SOUTH AFRICA
SASOL COLLECTION, SOUTH AFRICA
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTE, WASHINGTON, D.C, USA
STANDARD BANK INVESTMENT CORPORATION, JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA
TATHAM ART GALLERY, PIETERMARITZBURG, SOUTH AFRICA
TELKOM UNISA ART GALLERY UNIVERSITY OF PIETERMARITZBURG COLLECTION, SOUTH AFRICA
UNIVERSITY OF THE ORANGE FREE STATE COLLECTION, SOUTH AFRICA
UNIVERSITY OF THE WITWATERSRAND COLLECTION, SOUTH AFRICA
USA FRIENDS OF THE NATIONAL GALLERY, CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA

COMMISSIONS

1999    SCULPTURE FOR STANDARD BANK, SOUTH AFRICA
1994    INVOLVEMENT IN MOVIE ANIMATION FOR ARTS ALIVE, SOUTH AFRICA

1994    TITLE SEQUENCE FOR GRASSROOTS, NNTV, SOUTH AFRICA
1993    GRAPHICS FOR WEEKLY MAIL FILM FESTIVAL POSTER 1990-1 SET OF 6 GRAPHICS FOR FIRST NATIONAL BANK, SOUTH AFRICA

1991    LARGE SCULPTURE FOR WITS BUSINESS SCHOOL, JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA

1991    ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCE, STANDARD BANK NATIONAL ARTS FESTIVAL – 25TH ANNIVERSARY, GRAHAMSTOWN, SOUTH AFRICA