About
Please note that some of the above works may no longer be available. See our Stockroom for a range of available works or contact us for a detailed inventory of available works by Martin Ball.
Martin Ball
b. 1952
Lives Auckland, New Zealand
Martin Ball (b.1952) is renowned for his hyper-realist, large-scale painted portraits of recent years. These works represent a culmination of Ball’s ongoing interest in portraiture and realism that has spanned more than three decades. Ball has focussed on a variety of subject matter since the early stages of his career including landscape, still-life and portraiture. Although his subjects range from the intensely detailed to the minimal, he has consistently worked in the style of realism. His works invariably display a graphic quality, achievable through his careful handling of the mediums he employs. Ball’s incredible technical skill - evident in his use of pencil, graphite and more recently oil - is a testament to his disciplined approach to art-making.
In 2000, Ball produced a suite of five portraits featuring significant New Zealand artists including Arnold Wilson, Stanley Palmer, Dick Frizzell, Robert Ellis and Ralph Hotere. Since this initial series, he has continued to work with this successful formula; large-scale, pared back and focussing solely on the subjects head and shoulders. Ball generally works with photographs in preparation for his paintings. During the early stages of his career, these images were frequently taken from magazines but over recent years he has chosen to take his own photographs of his selected subjects. His refined technical ability in numerous mediums enables him to work easily as a photo-realist, however these images must be considered as representations, rather than direct replicas of the subjects. In each case Ball offers a heightened view of the sitter. He has consistently shown an interest in painting the physical aspects of the photograph itself, focusing on achieving a slightly grainy quality.
In 2005 and again in 2010, Martin Ball was selected as a finalist for the Archibald Prize held at New South Wales Gallery. This distinguished prize is awarded in recognition of excellence in the genre of portraiture. More recently, he exhibited as a finalist in the Wallace Art Awards, consequently winning the Peoples Choice Award, 2006. Ball has produced a number of successful commissions and his works are held in numerous private collections and public institutes including Auckland Art Gallery, Christchurch Art Gallery, Waikato Museum and Sarjeant Gallery.
Education
1970 - 72 BFA, University of Auckland Elam School of Fine Arts
1974 - 75 Teaching Diploma, Auckland College of Education
2001 MFA (Hons), University of Auckland Elam School of Fine Arts
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2011 Recent Portraits, John Leech Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand
2009 Carey’s Bay 2000, John Leech Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand
2007 New Works, John Leech Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand
2005 Drawings on Paper, The Crescent Gallery, Otara
Martin Ball: Selected Portraits 2000-2005, SOFA Gallery, Christchurch, New Zealand
2004 New Paintings, John Leech Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand
2000 Paintings: Five Portraits, Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand
1998 Paper Works, The Drawings Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand
1995 Drawings, Bowen Gallery, Wellington, New Zealand
1994 Drawing Paper, Warwick Brown Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand
1991 Drawings, Bowen Gallery, Wellington, New Zealand
New Work, Portfolio Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand
1989 Prints and Drawings, Portfolio Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand
1984 New Work, Denis Cohn Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand
1983 New Work, Denis Cohn Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand
1980 Five Years, Peter Webb Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand
1975 Exhibition of Drawings, Barry Lett Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand
Selected Group Exhibitions and Awards
2012 New Year, New Works, Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland
2010 Head to Head, National Portrait Gallery, Wellington, New Zealand
Archibald Prize 2010, Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
2009 Summer Exhibition 09-10, John Leech Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand
2008 Summer Exhibition 08-09, John Leech Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand
Archibald Prize 08, Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
Drawings, John Leech Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand
2007 A Greater Plan, Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand
Drawn Conclusions, Northart, Auckland, New Zealand
Archibald Prize 07, Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
2006 Drawings 2006, Northart, Auckland, New Zealand
James Wallace Trust, James Wallace Trust Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand
2005 Frieze, Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand
Cranleigh Barton Drawing Award, Robert McDougall Art Gallery, Christchurch, New Zealand
This is Not a Portrait Show, Koru Lounge, Auckland Airport
Archibald Prize 05, Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
Drawings: Out of Exile, Te Tuhi- The Mark, Auckland, New Zealand
2003 James Wallace Trust, James Wallace Trust Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand
Portraiture: The Art of Social Commentary, Te Tuhi- The Mark, Auckland, New Zealand
2002 James Wallace Trust, Auckland Museum, New Zealand
The Scale of Things, Mahara Gallery, Waikanae, New Zealand
Portrait Biennale, National Portrait Gallery, Wellington, New Zealand
2001-02 That Seventies Show, Auckland Art Gallery, New Zealand
2001 Stratum, ASA Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand
Still Life, John Leech Gallery, Auckland New Zealand
Hybrid, George Fraser Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand
2000 Biennale Portrait Competition, National Portrait Gallery, Wellington, New Zealand
Toi o Manukau, Fisher Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand
1999 James Wallace Trust/Visa Gold Art Award, James Wallace Galleries, Auckland, New Zealand
1998 Place and Identity in New Zealand Art: Works from the Gallery Collection, Auckland Art Gallery
1998 Drawing Collection, Waikato Art Museum, Hamilton, New Zealand
Figurative, Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand
1998-95 100 x 100 Exhibition, The Drawings Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand
1997 Cranleigh Barton Drawing Award, Robert McDougall Art Gallery, Christchurch, New Zealand
1996 James Wallace Trust, Custom House Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand
Common Ground, The Drawings Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand
Artists Draw Artists, The Drawings Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand
1995 James Wallace Trust, Custom House Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand
Visa Gold Art Award Exhibition, City Gallery, Wellington, New Zealand
Cranleigh Barton Drawing, Robert McDougall Art Gallery, Christchurch, New Zealand
1994 Function: Works from the Dowse Collection, Dowse Gallery, Lower Hutt, New Zealand
1978 Little Works, Auckland City Art Gallery, New Zealand
Private View: Paris Collection, Dowse Gallery, Lower Hutt, New Zealand
1977 New Zealand Drawing, Auckland City Art Gallery, New Zealand
Selected Publications
Bett, Elva, New Zealand Art: A Modern Perspective, Methuen Press, 1986
Brown, G. & Keith, H., New Zealand Painting 1839-1980, William Collins Publishing, 1982
Brown, Warwick, 100 New Zealand Artists, Godwit Publishing, 1997
Caughey, Elizabeth, Contemporary New Zealand Art 5, David Bateman Ltd., 2008
Dunn, Michael, New Zealand Painting: A Concise History, Auckland University Press, 2003
Griffey, Erin, The Power of Portraiture, University of Auckland Press, 2008
Wolfe, Richard New Zealand Portraits, Penguin, 2008
Selected Public Collections
Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki, Auckland, New Zealand
The James Wallace Arts Trust, Auckland, New Zealand
Dowse Art Gallery, Lower Hutt, New Zealand
Sarjeant Art Gallery, Wanganui, New Zealand
Hawkes Bay Art Museum, Napier, New Zealand
Waikato Art Museum, Hamilton, New Zealand
Christchurch City Art Gallery
Robert McDougall Art Gallery, Christchurch, New Zealand
Manukau City Collection, Manukau City, New Zealand