'Vessel with a silver heart', recycled aluminium street signs and silver. Designed and made by Boris Bally, USA, 1993.

Vessel formed of two hemispherical pieces of aluminium joined by a wide lip. The upper piece has a hollow centre made of a cone of gilt silver. The piece is perforated with pyramid shaped patterns of round holes.

Given by the maker

Historical significance: 'I bring decades of training and experience as an artist to this collection of pieces. Until I began experimenting with recycled traffic signage, nobody had seen the potential elegance of this discarded aluminum. I have since challenged myself to discover its properties in order to create bold objects of beauty which transcend its common roots. Signage has become my passionate medium of choice not only because of the recycling message, but also its appeal to me as an extreme variation on the age-old tradition of enamelling.

These 'urban' expressions of glass-on-metal also represent many years of collecting hard-to-find and specially weathered signage. The materials employed here are gleaned from ten-foot-high, thirty thousand pound scrap piles. Each of these reflective pearls represents sifting through thousands of ordinary oyster shells. I extract the most important elements of these gems and match them to create exciting color and image combinations. Lastly, by sawing and filing fine details graphics are highlighted and accented.

Good art naturally follows a cyclical path emulating the rhythm of life. This perpetual search for alternatives, variations, and challenges becomes a repetitive pattern of discovery and incremental growth.

I attempt to produce pieces of technical integrity and rich content. The rhythmic quality of design elements in my work become specific metaphors for strength and stability, as well as the danger and pain of life, while maintaining a disarming edge of humor.'
Boris Bally on 'Urban enamels'.

Reason For Production: Exhibition

M.6-2002