EBORAH 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 between mortality and immortality, matter and spirit, presence and absence, the quotidian and the mythic, the grounded and transcendent. In recent years she has developed an immediately recognisable visual language, her images simple, stark, symbolic – grounded, silent, still, poised. As Ricky Burnett has stated: 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. More recent work has also become more 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.    

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. 

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.

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 EXHIBITIONS  

2024 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 

2024 Winter Collection, Everard Read, Franschhoek, South Africa

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 traveled 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 Jo’burg 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 Jo’burg 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 Millenium, 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, 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 Millenium, 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, 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 Triennal 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 

1994 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