Deborah Bell (1957 – )
Artwork by Deborah Bell
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