Published November 23rd, 2007
Dan Tranberg
Special to The Plain Dealer
The mere mention of the term conceptual art often conjures thoughts of dry, cryptic objects that only make sense to a small number of art aficionados.
But the conceptually rigorous work of Kent-based painter Martin Ball defies such stereotypes, offering rich, tactile surfaces and, often, colors so vivid they seem to glow like neon lights.
Ball is currently the subject of an impressive solo exhibition at Exit (a gallery space) in Cleveland's Tremont neighborhood. Titled "Carceral and Erasure Series: 1987-1990," the show includes eight large canvases, all of which make use of the same mathematical system to form an image.
In the case of four paintings from Ball's "Carceral" series, that image is essentially a group of arced lines superimposed over a grid. In his "Erasure" series, this structure is inverted: A grid is superimposed over a configuration of arcs.
One amazing aspect of these two groups of paintings is that, in terms of imagery, they're identical. What shifts from one painting to the next is the color and the sequence with which the artist makes his marks. Surprisingly, with these few changes, the resulting works appear to be very different from one another.
In "Carceral 1," for instance, the arced lines are painted in an electric yellow while the grid is jet-black against a deep red ground. Consequently, the yellow arcs give the illusion of a bowed form that almost appears as if it's projecting out in front of the canvas.
By contrast, in "Carceral 3," the grid is executed in black against white, like the beginnings of a Mondrian painting, and the arcs -- in red, yellow and blue -- appear as a thicket of curved lines that are tangled like vines in a trellis.
Ball's "Carceral" series was done in 1987 and 1988. He explains in a statement for the show's catalog that it arose from his dissatisfaction with the Romantic nature of his then-landscape-oriented paintings. Like other 20th-century conceptualists, he began to dissect the structural elements of a painting, stripping off all that was extraneous to the essential image.
Like New York-based conceptualist Sol LeWitt (1928-2007), Ball devised a system of generating imagery. In Ball's case, in these paintings, that system is predicated on the idea that curved lines represent a kind of figure, while the grid represents a structured ground.
So, in some sense, his images are reductive versions of portraits, with the arcs functioning as stand-ins for the contours of a human head.
This idea becomes especially interesting in Ball's "Erasure" series, executed in 1989 and 1990, in which buff-color grids appear to be in front of black and gray arcs.
Spatially, these paintings suggest that the figure (or head) is caged. As a result, they create an entirely different feeling from the "Carceral" series. Yet, again, the basic structure is the same.
Ball's thoughtful and precise manipulation of the fundamental structure of an image highlights the power of each decision a painter makes. Perhaps more interesting, it demonstrates the manner in which our perception of a painting can shift drastically with the subtlest change in the artist's decision-making.
Through all of this conceptual tinkering, Ball, unlike many other conceptually based painters, continues to produce works with a startlingly powerful physical presence. In other words, reproductions (or descriptions) cannot fully do them justice.
Exit (a gallery space) is at 2688 West 14th St., Cleveland. Call 330-321-8161, or go to www.exitgallery.com.
Tranberg is an artist and writer living in Cleveland. Art Matters is a column that runs weekly in Friday covering the area art scene. To be considered for publication, items about shows or openings must be received three weeks in advance. Mail to Plain Dealer Art Critic, 1801 Superior Ave., Cleveland, OH 44114, or fax to 216-999-6269.
To reach Dan Tranberg:
trandan@core.com