Toni-Ann Ballenden

Toni-Ann Ballenden
Artist Statement Inside my studio are plastic boxes filled with cut up unresolved works, waiting for the chance to be reconstructed, art waiting to find a place in the world. “Art, no less than wisdom, waits on life” - Louis Bourgeois. The obsessive cutting in the process of my work is cathartic helping me to cope with the challenges in my life. Many artists have inspired me over the years but the real reason for my process is very personal. Feeling undervalued as a child became an ongoing influence in my making process as an adult. My history in art is figurative, drawings not good enough were burnt or cut up violently. I consistently destroyed my work and threw it away. In 2015 I received a residency at The Bag Factory, an experience that led my work into abstraction. I found a way to use my destructive process as a more positive creative journey, cutting up failed works and reassembling them into the abstract works I produce today. Qualifications and collections National Higher Diploma cum Laude from the Wits Technicon in Johannesburg 1993. Part time lecturer at Wits Technicon (1993 – 1996). The Astrup Fearnley Art Museum Oslo Norway Collection. SAFFCA Collection. Wits Tech Collection. The Sasol Collection. The Anglo American Collection. Many private collections. 1st prize Thami Mnyele Fine Arts Awards 1992. Nine Solo Exhibitions.

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