DEBORAH BELL
(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. 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. Bell has developed an immediately recognisable visual language, her images simple, stark, symbolic – grounded, silent, still, poised.

Bell is fascinated by ancient civilisations and their excavated artefacts and her work incorporates powerful, totemic images and layered visual, symbolic and iconographic references of past and present worlds. In her iconography, the artist draws from a range of cultures - African, Chinese, Egyptian, Greek, early Christian, European - and a range of psychologies and philosophies, particularly the Buddhist preoccupation with stillness and the shedding of attachment and the ego.

In Bell’s recent work, human figures have embodied the seeker on a journey, often accompanied by lions, hounds, wolves, horses and totemic modes of transport such as boats and chariots. However, her latest body of work, is characterised by a sense of coming home, a greater emphasis on the human body being on this earth. There is an increased sense of acceptance of our materiality; a surrendering to who we are, and the suggestion of an end to the constant quest for transcendence.

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 EXHIBTIONS

2020   

Sentinels, Everard Read London, UK

2019   

Enthroned, Everard Read Cape Town, South Africa

2018

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, CIRCA Gallery, London, UK

2015     

Dreams of Immortality, Everard Read Gallery, Cape Town & Johannesburg, South Africa
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 Africa
Flux, Goodman Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa
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, 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, Potchesfstroom Museum, South Africa

1982     

Deborah Bell, Market Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa

TWO/THREE PERSON EXHIBITIONS

2019      

Correspondences, with Ricky Burnett, Everard Read, 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

UB101: A portfolio of etchings done in conjunction with Kentridge and Hodgins. Exhibited at the Grahamstown Festival and at 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
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 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, Gallery International Cape Town, Taking Liberties, Durban, South Africa

1988     

Exhibited with Jenny Stadler and Nagel at the Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa

1987-08 

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

1983-4                 

Exhibited with Hodgins and Sassoon, Carriage House Gallery

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2020      

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

The Portrait Show, Everard Read, Johannesburg, South Africa

2019      

Summer, Everard Read, Cape Town, South Africa

2018      

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

2016-7

TACIT, a group exhibition acknowledging 20 years of conjunction and reciprocity at Dionysus Sculpture Works studio and foundry , NWU Gallery, Potchefstroom and William Humphreys, Kimberley, and Pretoria Art Museum, Pretoria, South Africa

2016     

Opening Group Exhibition, CIRCA Gallery, London ,UK
Winter Collection, Group Show,  Everard Read Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa

2015     

Bronze, Steel &  Stone, Everard Read, Johannesburg, South Africa

1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair, CIRCA Gallery Booth, London, UK
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 Haag, 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
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
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, Grahamstown, South Africa

2004     

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

2003     

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

2000     

Icons for the Millenium, Atlanta, USA

1999     

The Paper Show, Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa
Emergence, Group Show, National Arts festival, Grahamstown, South Africa
Artery, A.V.A Gallery, Cape Town – in conjunction with the Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa
Artists in residence, Standard Bank National Arts Festival, 25th Anniversary, Grahamstown, South Africa

1998     

Earth Hues – Contemporary African Art, Group Show, 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, and 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 Siecle a Johannesburg), Galerie Convergence, Galerie Jean-Christian Fradin, Galerie Michel Luneau, Galerie les Petit Murs, Nantes, France
Not Quite a Christmas Exhibition, Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg
CRAM, A.V.A Gallery, Cape Town – in conjunction with The Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg

1996     

Gay Rights: Rites, Re-writes, Travelling Exhibition, South Africa
Group Salon, Rose Korber representing artists at the 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 and Knights Galleries International, Toronto, Canada
Barber Signs, The Standard Bank Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa
Recent Drawings, Gallery on Tyrone, Johannesburg, South Africa
Ceramics Biennal, Sandton Art Gallery, South Africa

1995     

The Bag Factory: The First Five Years, the 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, North Western University of Illinois, 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 Triennal, South Africa

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

Hand Coloured Graphics, Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa
Tiny Tapestry Show, Goodman Gallery, 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 Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa

1988     

CASA (Culture for Another South Africa), conference in Amsterdam, Holland
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 Triennal New Visions, market Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa
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 Insitute, 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

1991     

Large sculpture for Wits Business School, Johannesburg, South Africa     

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

1994     

Involvement in movie animation for Arts Alive, South Africa   

Title sequence for Grass Roots, NNTV , South Africa

1993     

Graphics for Weekly Mail Film Festival Poster 1990-1 Set of 6 Graphics for First National Bank, South Africa