Charles Ede presents Menno Balm: Drawn from Marble, an exhibition in June and July at the London gallery, timed to coincide with Classics Week. Bringing together contemporary drawing and ancient fragments, it centres on sixteen new works by the Maastricht-based draughtsman Menno Balm, including a monumental drawing of the Roman Forum measuring over three metres, shown alongside ancient marble.
The exhibition is conceived as something to be walked through. Balm’s large-scale views of ancient sites surround the visitor, while fragments of architecture are encountered at close quarters. There is a deliberate movement between the expansive and the intimate, from the immersive sweep of the drawings to the physical presence of the ancient works. As one moves through the space, attention settles on surface, light and texture, and on the relationship between representation and material.
Balm’s work is grounded in close observation, with a particular focus on the surfaces of ancient architecture. His compositions are often tightly framed and slightly unconventional, recalling in some respects the late eighteenth-century landscapes of Thomas Jones. Rather than describing whole scenes, they concentrate on the structure of walls, the irregularities of stone and the effects of weathering, and the play of light across them.
Trained in Amsterdam and Groningen, and with a background in art history, Balm has developed a distinctive practice as a draughtsman, working at an increasingly ambitious scale. Much of his inspiration comes from Italy, where ancient walls and ruins provide the basis for his compositions. His drawings explore the challenge of conveying three-dimensional form on a flat surface, while also capturing the slow effects of time and weathering on stone.
Shown in dialogue with ancient fragments, the exhibition brings past and present into direct relation, allowing both to be experienced at once.
