Valley House Gallery is honored to present their 4th solo exhibition for Dallas sculptor Deborah Ballard with new works throughout the sculpture garden and in the gallery. Ballard draws inspiration from life experiences, body language, and world travels. She develops and refines her ideas with a personal language derived from observing the human form and invites the viewer to contemplate our interactions with one another. Unlike traditional sculptors who begin with a small maquette, Ballard works in reverse, beginning with life-size figures. Since receiving her MFA from Southern Methodist University in 1990, Ballard has built sculptures as variations on a theme, rather than as editions. She first models the figure in wet clay, then takes a mold from the clay (with up to 20 mold sections for a single figure) and manipulates the form in subtle or dramatic ways to create a different expression for each figure within the series. Initially, they are cast in plaster, then variations are cast in stone and/or bronze. Constant experimentation with techniques, diverse patinas, and spatial arrangements among multiple figures creates an emotional dynamic more interesting to Ballard than portraiture.
Price
- FREE!
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