Barry X Ball

Barry X Ball is a contemporary sculptor based in New York. His work has been widely shown internationally over the last 40 years and is represented in many public and Top 200 private collections. “The Shape of Time”, a large solo exhibition of the artists sculptures, many of them never-before exhibited, is currently being presented at the renowned Palladian basilica, San Giorgio Maggiore in Venice concurrent with the 2026 Biennale d’Arte. In 2028, Barry and the renowned designer, Michèle Lamy, will collaborate on a major exhibition at Palazzo Reale and other venues in Milano, Italy. “Sacred and Profane”, a show pairing works by Andres Serrano and Ball opened in February of 2025 at Patricia Low Contemporary in Gstaad, Switzerland. Four of Ball’s sculptures were included in “Busted” at the Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park in Grand Rapids, Michigan, that opened on April 2, 2025. Ball’s monumental multi-stone Buddha debuted in a solo show at Mario Diacono Gallery in Boston during June-August of 2025. A major survey exhibition of Ball’s figurative stone sculptures, “Barry X Ball: Remaking Sculpture”, was staged at the Nasher Sculpture Center in Dallas in 2020. The artist’s Medardo Rosso Project debuted at Ca’ Pesaro International Gallery of Modern Art (Venice) during the 2019 Venice Biennale. A retrospective exhibition of Ball’s work, “The End of History”, was presented at the Villa Panza in Varese, Italy in 2018. Ball’s monumental Pietà and Pseudogroup of Giuseppe Panza were also shown at that time at the Castello Sforzesco Museum of Ancient Art in Milano. A two-person show, “Cy Twombly / Barry X Ball: A History of Painting and Sculpture”, was presented from March 31 to June 25, 2022, at Mignoni Gallery in New York in collaboration with McCabe Fine Art. And in 2011, Ball’s “Portraits and Masterpieces” exhibition – a major show of 24 sculptures in 17 rooms on 3 floors of Ca’ Rezzonico – was a Collateral Event of the 54th Biennale d’Arte di Venezia. Ball’s sculptures, although paying reverent homage to their historical antecedents, are completely new. Through the use of unconventional materials and innovative methods, the artist has reinvigorated the ageold tradition of figurative sculpture. Ball employs an elaborate array of equipment and procedures to realize his works, ranging from the cutting edge to the traditional, from 3D digital scanning, virtual modeling, rapid prototyping, and computer-controlled milling to exquisitely-detailed hand carving and polishing. With their simultaneous fever-pitch intensity and surreal stillness, Barry X Ball’s bravura works make an expansive case for the reconsideration of contemporary sculptural practice. The Barry X Ball Studio in Brooklyn is one of the world’s most advanced stone sculpture facilities. The artist’s extensive collection of rare, exquisite stone blocks, compiled over 30 years, is stored onsite. The facility also incorporates an expansive glass-walled penthouse with attendant rooftop gardens and terraces. The studio has been featured in several architectural publications.