Menno Balm
(Dutch, b.1982)27. Wall of the Torre dei Conti, Rome, 2025
Signed 'Menno Balm' (lower left)
Charcoal on paper
The sheet: 14 x 22cm
18th-century French frame: 32.5 x 40.5cm
18th-century French frame: 32.5 x 40.5cm
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...
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 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 marbles. 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 (1742–1803).
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 ancient sites in Italy and, more recently, from the Roman
Baths in Bath, where walls, ruins and fragments 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.
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 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 marbles. 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 (1742–1803).
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 ancient sites in Italy and, more recently, from the Roman
Baths in Bath, where walls, ruins and fragments 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.
