Sacred sculpture on display at Salisbury Cathedral

Salisbury Cathedral is to hold an exhibition of around 30 previously unseen religious and secular sculptures by Peter Eugene Ball in the Morning Chapel from 12 September to 11 October, bringing together recent examples of the work upon which the artist’s considerable reputation is based.

This is the first time Ball’s work will have been on public view in Salisbury and features a number of reflective images, several witty conversation pieces and most importantly a new Madonna and Child which forms the focus of the exhibition.

Canon Treasurer, Mark Bonney is delighted that this important exhibition is coming to Salisbury. “Peter Eugene Ball has a special gift for creating devotional objects. His work is instantly recognisable with its expressive faces and elongated figures. He has more sculptures in cathedrals and churches in England – over fifty in total – than anyone else, as well as in private collections worldwide.

“Peter also has an extraordinary ability to make his sculpture blend into its new surroundings so it looks as if it’s always been there and is an integral part of the building. His pieces assume a timeless and sacred quality and the statements he makes deal with experiences and mysteries like birth and death, the human condition and the divine.”

He continued, “His figures are often very simple, little more than a slender piece of sea-worn timber, transformed by a gesturing hand or poignant facial expression. Other works are much more complex and richly embellished, like a reliquary containing something sacred and mysterious. Each piece he sculpts is a unique creation drawn from the found objects which are his inspiration, from the various cultures which have strongly influenced him and from his innate passion to express his profound, often quirky, and uncompromising ideas.”

The exhibition in the Morning Chapel in Salisbury Cathedral is open between 10am – 4pm daily from 12 September to 11 October. Admission free.

Find out more at salisburycathedral.org.uk.