ABOUT THE ARTIST

Rhode Island artist, Boris Bally, uses retired road signs to create jewelry, bowls and furniture. His creative urge is infinite, as expressed through his artwork and also his home. A few years ago, Bally purchased an abandoned building, an old American Legion hall and undertook its renovation. Today it is an urban showcase and a monument to the art of recycling. Hardly a corner has escaped Bally’s artistic touch. Old drill bits used by electricians have been welded to form a fan-shaped window grate. A staircase railing is supported by a row of shovels.

ABOUT THE WORK

Boris Bally fabricates his artwork using retired signage from the Department of Public Works. The pieces are cut, handspun and riveted re-using the old aluminum traffic signs. The final aesthetic result is expressed through functional and non-functional bowls, brooches, key fobs and chairs.

“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. “

PERMANENT COLLECTION

Victoria and Albert Museum, London, England
National Museum of American Art, Washington D.C.
The Brooklyn Museum, New York, NY
Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, Gatlinburg, TN
American Crafts Museum, New York, NY
The Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, PA

PUBLICATIONS

2004, Metalsmith, “Success in Context,” Volume 24, Number 2
1999, Metalsmith, “1999 Exhibition in Print: Metalsmith Sculpture”
1996, Metalsmith, Cover Article “Boris Bally: Expecting The Unexpected”
1995, The Encyclopedia of Jewelry Making Techniques by Jinks McGrath

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS

2004, “Borris Bally,” Fuller Museum of Crafts, Brockton, MA
2002, “Urban Enamels,” Patina Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
1998, “American Metalanguage I,” Barbican Centre, London, England
1997, “Hello Again!” Oakland Museum, Oakland, California