(b. 1957 Johannesburg, South Africa)

 

Deborah Bell is one of South Africa’s most celebrated contemporary artists. She works in a range of media on canvas and paper, produces dry point etchings and large-scale bronzes. Over the years, her earlier more political work has given way to a meditation on the personal, as well as a broader, deeper investigation into the border between mortality and immortality, matter and spirit, presence and absence, the quotidian and the mythic, the grounded and transcendent. She has developed an immediately recognisable visual language, her images simple, stark, symbolic – grounded, silent, still, poised. As artist and art curator-cum-teacher Ricky Burnett described it, “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. Bell’s earlier figures, characterised by entrapment (in the country, in the body), gave 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. She has also been 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.  

Having relocated from South Africa to New Zealand during Covid, Bell’s recent works are also a multi-layered investigation into both physical and metaphorical journeys, the idea of ‘home’, and her own ancestors and heritage.

Bell’s work is represented in public and private collections around the world including the Museum of Modern Art, New York, the Smithsonian Institute and the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, the Hara Museum, Tokyo and the IZIKO South African National Gallery, Cape Town.

She 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. She has worked with David Krut studios on several projects too. 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.

 

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2024     

Mother Land, Everard Read, Johannesburg, South Africa

2020     

Sentinels 2020, Everard Read, London, UK

2019     

Enthroned, Everard Read, Cape Town, South Africa

Invocations to the Plate, David Krut Projects, Johannesburg, South Africa

2017     

Recent Paintings and Sculptures, Everard Read Franschhoek, South Africa

Uncovering Ancient Memory – 15 Years of Etchings, David Krut Projects, Cape Town

2016     

Dreams of Immortality: Blood and Gold , Everard Read, London, UK

2015     

Renunciation, David Krut, Johannesburg , South Africa

Dreams of Immortality: Return of the Gods, Everard Read, Johannesburg & Cape Town, South Africa

2013     

What Would Wisdom Say to Your Dark Heart? Everard Read Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa

2012     

A Far Country, John Martin Gallery, London, and Glyndebourne Opera Festival, UK

2011     

Presence, Everard Read, Johannesburg, South Africa

2010     

Alchemy, David Krut, Johannesburg, South Africa

2009     

Flux, Goodman Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa

Collaborations, David Krut, Johannesburg, South Africa

2007     

Objects of Power: memory of metal, memory of wood, Goodman,  Johannesburg, South Africa

2005-6

Crossings and Monuments, Oliewenhuis Museum, Bloemfontein, South Africa

2005     

Crossings and Monuments, Aardklop Festival, Potchefstroom, South Africa

2004     

Sentinels, Goodman, 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

 

SELECTED GROUP (2-3 PERSON) EXHIBITIONS

2019     

Co-respondences, with Ricky Burnett, Everard Read, Johannesburg, South Africa

2016     

Deborah Bell, William Kentridge, Diane Victor, David Krut Workshop, Johannesburg, South Africa

1997     

Collaborations 1986-1997 (11 years of collaborative projects between artists Kentridge, Hodgins and Bell) at the Johannesburg Art Gallery, in association with the FNB Vita Awards, South Africa

UB101: A portfolio of etchings done in conjunction with Kentridge and Hodgins. Grahamstown Festival & Gertrude Posel Gallery. Exhibition curated by Fiona Rankin-Smith, South Africa

1994     

Memo, installation with video at the Grahamstown festival in collaboration with William Kentridge and Robert Hodgins, South Africa

Lamentations, Art First, Cork Street. London, UK

1993     

Easing the Passing (of the hours), Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa

Portraits in the round, ceramic exhibition in collaboration with William Kentridge & Retief van Wyk at the Goodman, Johannesburg, South Africa

1992     

Easing the Passing (of the hours), computer animation, laser prints & drawings in collaboration with William Kentridge &Robert Hodgins, Waterfront, Cape Town, South Africa

1991     

Little Morals, a portfolio of etchings done in conjunction with Hodgins & Kentridge,

Cassirer Gallery, Johannesburg; Gallery International, Cape Town; Taking Liberties, Durban, South Africa

1988     

Exhibited with Jenny Stadler & Nagel, Goodman, Johannesburg, South Africa

1987-8

Hogarth in Johannesburg, a portfolio of etchings done in conjunction with Hodgins & Kentridge. This exhibition travelled to all the major centres in South Africa.

1985     

MAFA exhibition, Rembrandt Gallery, Milner Park, Johannesburg, South Africa

1983-4

Exhibited with Hodgins & Sassoon, Carriage House Gallery, Texas, USA

 

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2023     

Sentinels (2003), Chelsea Physic Garden, London, UK

2022     

Investec Cape Town Art Fair, with Everard Read, Cape Town, South Africa

Seduction, Everard Read, Cape Town, South Africa

Summer Sculpture Exhibition, Riverhill Gardens, UK

3D IN 22: South African Contemporary Sculpture, Everard Read, Johannesburg, South Africa

Naughty Aughties, SMAC, Johannesburg, South Africa

2021     

Oasis, Everard Read, Cape Town, South Africa

Myths, Martyrs, Monsters & Masterpieces, Everard Read, Franschhoek, South Africa

Offering, Everard Read, Franschhoek, South Africa

2020     

Odyssey, Everard Read, South Africa & UK

Still, Everard Read, South Africa & UK

Pink, Everard Read, Johannesburg, South Africa

On Being, Everard Read, Franschhoek, South Africa

2019     

Investec Cape Town Art Fair, with Everard Read, Cape Town, South Africa

2018     

FNB Joburg Art Fair, with Everard Read, South Africa

Winter, Everard Read, Cape Town, South Africa

Investec Cape Town Art Fair with Everard Read, South Africa

Summer, Everard Read, Cape Town, South Africa

2017     

FNB Joburg Art Fair with Everard Read, South Africa

Winter Collection, Everard Read, Cape Town, South Africa

Bronze, Steel & Stone II, Everard Read, London, UK

2016     

Bronze, Steel & Stone I, Everard Read, London, UK

Tacit, travelling exhibition, NWU gallery, Potchefstroom, William Humphrey’s, Kimberley, Pretoria Art Museum, Pretoria, South Africa

2015     

1:54 Art Fair with Everard Read, London, UK

2013     

Centenary Exhibition, Everard Read, Johannesburg, South Africa

2012     

Rainbow Nation: South African Sculptors, Museum Beelden Aan Zee, Den Haag, Netherlands

2011     

HORSE, curated by Ricky Burnett, 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, Cape Town, South Africa

David Krut print workshop, UNISA Art Gallery, Pretoria, South Africa

2005     

Art Basel, with Goodman, Miami Beach, USA

Works on Paper, Collaborative prints from David Krut Print Workshop, Franchise Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa

David Krut Collaborations: 25 Years of Prints and Multiples, National Arts Festival, Makhanda, South Africa

2004     

Earthworks/Claybodies, Sasol Museum, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa

2003     

Earthworks/Claybodies, Pretoria Art Museum; Standard Bank Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa

2000     

Icons for the Millennium, Atlanta, USA

1999     

The Paper Show, Goodman, Johannesburg, South Africa

Emergence, Group Show, National Arts Festival, Grahamstown, South Africa

Artery, AVA Gallery, Cape Town & Goodman, Johannesburg, South Africa

Artists in residence, Standard Bank National Arts Festival, 25th Anniversary, Makhanda, 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, University of London and Edinburgh College of Art, UK

The Gencor Collection, Sandton Art Gallery, the Grahamstown Festival, South Africa

Kempton Park Metropolitan Substructure Fine Arts Award Show, Kempton Park, South Africa

New Art from South Africa, Talbot Rice Gallery, Edinburgh, UK

Les Arts de la Resistance (Fin de Siècle à Johannesburg), Galerie Convergence; Galerie Jean Christian Fradin; Galerie Michel Luneau; Galerie les Petit Murs, Nantes, France

Not Quite a Christmas Exhibition, Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa

CRAM, AVA Gallery, Cape Town & Goodman, Johannesburg, South Africa

1996   

Gay Rights: Rites, Re-writes, travelling exhibition, South Africa

Group Salon, curated by Rose Korber, Bay Hotel, Cape Town, South Africa

Common and Uncommon Ground: South African Art to Atlanta, City Gallery East, Atlanta, USA

Vita Awards, Johannesburg Art Gallery, South Africa

Tomorrow is Now, First Canadian Place & Knights Galleries International, Toronto, Canada

Barber Signs, The Standard Bank Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa

Recent Drawings, Gallery on Tyrone, Johannesburg, South Africa

Ceramics Biennial, Sandton Art Gallery, South Africa

1995     

The Bag Factory: The First Five Years, Civic Theatre Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa

The Art of Tea, Kim Sacks Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa

Group Salon, Rose Korber representing artists at the Bay Hotel, Cape Town, South Africa

1994     

Group Show, Newtown, Johannesburg, South Africa

Anything Boxed, Group Show, Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa

South African works on Paper, Northwestern University, Chicago, USA

1993     

Gallery on Tyrone, Johannesburg, South Africa

Vita Awards, Johannesburg Art Gallery, South Africa

Momentum Life Exhibition, Pretoria, South Africa

Internations of Millennium, Newtown Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa

1992     

ICA, 50 Johannesburg Artists, Johannesburg, South Africa

Paris: The Catalyst, Alliance Francaise, Durban, South Africa

Looking at Art: Looking at Watercolours, Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa

Vita Awards, Johannesburg Art Gallery, South Africa

Works made in August, Newtown Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa

1991

Cape Town Triennial, South Africa

Painted People: Painted Spaces, Newtown Galleries, Johannesburg, South Africa

Hand Coloured Graphics, Goodman, Johannesburg, South Africa

Tiny Tapestry Show, Goodman, Johannesburg, South Africa

1990     

Women choose Women, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa

Art from South Africa, MOMA, Oxford, UK

Standard Bank Drawing Competition, Johannesburg, South Africa

1989     

Volkskas Atelier Award Exhibition, South African Vita Awards, Johannesburg Art Gallery, South Africa

African Encounters, Dome Gallery, New York and Washington, USA

The Little Big Show, Goodman, Johannesburg, South Africa

1988     

CASA (Culture for Another South Africa), conference in Amsterdam, Netherlands

Volkskas Atelier Award exhibition, South African Association of the Arts. Pretoria, South Africa 

100 Artists Protest detention without trial, in aid of DPSC, Market Theatre, Johannesburg, South Africa

Artists for Human Rights Exhibition, Durban Exhibition Centre, South Africa

1986     

Volkskas Atelier Award Exhibition, South African Association of Arts, Pretoria, South Africa

4 UNISA Lecturers, Bloemfontein, South Africa

UNISA Art Lecturers, Pretoria Art Museum, South Africa

1985     

Cape Town Triennial New Visions, Market Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa

11 Figurative Artists, Market Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa

 

 

AWARDS & MERITS

2013        

MEDAL OF HONOUR FOR VISUAL ARTS (Sculpture and Painting), Die Suid-Afrikaanse Akademie for Wetenskap en Kuns, South Africa

1997        

APSA Award for the best New Signature, Ceramics Biennial, South Africa

1991        

Vita Quarterly Award, runner-up for Main Award, South Africa

Mamba Award for the Most Sustained Artist

1986        

Merit Prize Winner, Volkskas Atelier, South Africa

 

SELECTED PUBLIC & PRIVATE COLLECTIONS

BCE, Johannesburg, South Africa

Bell, Dewar and Hall, Johannesburg, South Africa

Bristol Myers Squibb Corp. USA.

Friends of the National Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa

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

Museum of Modern Art, New York, USA.

MTN Art Institute, Johannesburg, South Africa

Oliewenhuis Museum, Bloemfontein, South Africa

National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C, USA.

Pretoria Art Museum, South Africa

Roodepoort Museum, South Africa

IZIKO South African National Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa

BHP Billiton South Africa Ltd.

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, South Africa

UNISA Art Gallery, South Africa

University of Pietermaritzburg Collection, South Africa

University of the Orange Free State Collection, South Africa

University of the Witwatersrand Collection, South Africa

 

COMMISSIONS

1999     

Sculpture for Standard Bank, South Africa

1991     

Large sculpture for Wits Business School, South Africa

1991     

Artist-in-Residence, Standard Bank National Arts Festival – 25th Anniversary

Grahamstown, South Africa 1994 Graphics for Weekly Mail Film Festival Poster, South Africa

1994     

Involvement in movie animation for Arts Alive   

Title sequence for Grass Roots, NNTV, South Africa

1993     

Graphics for Weekly Mail Film Festival Poster, South Africa

1990-1

Set of 6 Graphics for First National Bank, South Africa