Sydney Ball is Australia’s foremost pioneer of abstract art, whose work is marked by an instinct for the cutting-edge. Throughout his long and successful career, Ball explored many styles across his printmaking, painting and drawing including Hard-edge Abstraction, Colour Field and Lyrical Abstraction. However, it was his undying love for colour and its ability to add music to a simple form that earned him his reputation as a master composer of graphic harmonies.

The Canto series is an exquisite example of the refined, finished quality that has come to define Balls abstract forms. Compelling in their symmetry and their striking, intense colours, the Canto series is one part abstraction, and one part spiritualism: for Ball, the circle is the ultimate symbol of infinity.

Working with Michelle Perry at Marnling Press in Sydney, Ball discovered and was enthralled by the multi-dimensionality of metallic paints, added to later works in the Canto series. This discovery transformed Balls work, adding new levels of depth and complexity.

These works also tell of Balls time spent living and painting in America, where he was heavily inspired by Colour Field and Abstract painting during the 1960s. Similarly, his series was titled after the American poet and author Ezra Pounds The Cantos - a series of deeply intellectual musings on life and Government during the post-war period.

Elegant and achingly beautiful, and collected by institutions widely including The Art Gallery of New South Wales - Sydney Balls Canto series is nothing short of significant. An astoundingly sophisticated addition to any collection of Modern and Contemporary art. 

Sydney BALL (1933 - 2017)
'Canto no XVII', 2002
screenprint on paper
Edition of 30
Image Size: 49 x 57 cm
Dimensions: 58 x 77 cm
Signed: Signed Sydney Ball
Comes with Letter of Provenance

Condition: Good. Overall in Good condition, though there may be some minor signs of wear or disruption to the painted surface. Close up photographs can be provided upon request. 

© The Artist or Assignee