A Look at the Advancements of Tech in Art With Barry X Ball

He acquired land in 2011 and over the course of 12 years, built an incredible three-story atelier with an impressive sculpture studio, computer lab and materials area, showers and lockers for employees, and even living quarters for late nights. All his dedication and hard work over the last 40 years is evident when entering the space and speaking to him about his influences, peers, and collaborators. 

When in the early studio days at his Grand Street space, Ball shared that he “made work on my own, largely hand-carving models and sculptures. I methodically acquired industrial machines, including a classic Bridgeport milling machine with an additional 4-axis digital readout, power feeds, and a modular vacuum-chuck system—a pre-CNC [computer-controlled] workhorse,” one that he and his team still regularly use.

It was only in 2023 that he acquired a Robotor, a robot sculpting machine with a mechanical arm that uses electro-spindles and rotary tables to carve stone from Carrara, Italy, most known for being the marble quarry that Michelangelo used for the David (1501-1504), amongst others.

The CEO and co-founder of Robotor, Giacomo Massari, recently told Bill Whitaker of CBS’ 60 Minutes that the robot can accomplish a whopping 99% of the carving, which is ten times faster than the human hand. Yet, the remaining one percent can take months to complete by artists and artisans in the studio. 

This also rings true for Barry X Ball. He has a studio where no less than seven assistants are hand sanding, deftly combining different stones and highlighting their natural essences. Ball and others like him see the work that Robotor can do as efficient, precise, and stylized— occasionally leaving machine-made marks by choice. 

As a painter gathers their chosen pigments on a palette, artists who have the means to do so can use these massive digital colleagues to manifest their vision. While some might see these new methodologies as a way to avoid art historical carving techniques, the digital aspect— including artificial intelligence— is a part of our world. 

Other artists, including painting duo Resch Willeit, also employ machines as a way to purposefully detach from a hands-on process. The difference here is that one result can be randomized, while the other is incredibly precise.

The hum of the Robotor was a consistent presence in the studio the day we met, as it diligently worked on a round marble base. The rhythmic pulsing is enclosed in a large glass cube, much quieter than one might imagine. Our conversation commenced first on the ground level, a maze of sculptures, massive stone blocks, and a flurry of artist fabricators, and then onto the other floors.

One of the most evident features of Ball’s work is that it is extraordinarily visually complex and in dialogue with major art predecessors— mostly those from classical antiquity and the Renaissance. 

The studio echoes these historic sensibilities with sculptures based on works by Michelangelo and Giusto Le Court, often altered with Ball’s own artistic license and subjects. His impressive collection of stone blocks are aggregated in Italy, but sourced from all over the world. 

He speaks freely of Portuguese gold marble, Mexican onyx, Belgium black marble, Bolivian sodalite, and Pakistani onyx, amongst others. These stones carry a depth and virtue of place even before they exist as monumental figurations. 

Much of the impact of Ball’s sculptural oeuvre comes from the incredibly rich and vibrant striations of the material and natural essence of each stone, which seems to nearly bleed off the surface. 

“One thing about using stone of color is not only the color, but also levels of translucency. I started playing around with the material itself [motions to work from his Medardo Rosso project], pushing it to the limit of recognizability as a figure.” He references another nearby piece inspired by Rosso’s Madame Noblet (1897), where the stone has so much character that its original reference or inspiration is barely recognizable. 

“I like introducing stone with so much particularity that it asserts itself and gets into battle with the form.” After attending a liberal arts college, Ball taught himself how to make cabinets, and through that practice, his shapes evolved to where they are today. 

He was given his first Apple computer in 1988 and recognized its utility, appreciating the way in which it could be used as a tool. Once in New York, he worked as a messenger, driving a truck to save money to buy a table saw. Today, he can be hands-off in many ways, but is involved in all the aesthetics— from hardware choices to the width of the chamfer. 

Ball’s practice is one that is as connected to the past as it is cemented in the present. In between recreating versions of classical busts and free-standing works, he pays homage to the likes of Michèle Lamy and the late Hester Diamond, who was a New York-based collector, philanthropist, and the mother of Mike Diamond of the Beastie Boys.

A life-size sculpture of Lamy, who recently curated a furniture exhibition by her partner Rick Owens at Salon 94, is in the early stages. Lamy has been photo-captured at a studio in Industry City, made into a 3D model, and exists in the digital realm in a program called Rhino. The goal is for the piece to be part of a collaboration with the two fashion icons in Piazza Reale, Milano.

The portraits are special, but when radical transformation happens in the process, either by the removal of information or when the materiality takes over, an object utterly and completely Barry X Ball emerges. 

*Image caption for Envy / Purity, 2008 - 2018. 
Envy, sculpture: Italian Portoro marble, stainless steel
pedestal: Macedonian marble, stainless steel, wood, acrylic lacquer, steel, nylon, plastic
sculpture: 23 x 17-1/4 x 9-1/2 in (58.4 x 43.8 x 24.1 cm)
pedestal: 45 x 14 x 12 in (114.3 x 35.6 x 30.5 cm)
sculpture-pedestal assembly: 68 x 17-1/4 x 12 in (172.7 x 43.8 x 30.5 cm)
after Giusto Le Court (1627-1679) La Invidia
circa 1670
Ca’ Rezzonico, Venice

Purity, sculpture: translucent white Iranian onyx, stainless steel
pedestal: Macedonian marble, stainless steel, wood, acrylic lacquer, steel, nylon, plastic
sculpture: 24 x 16-1/2 x 11-1/4 in (61 x 41.9 x 28.6 cm)
pedestal: 45 x 14 x 12 in (114.3 x 35.6 x 30.5 cm)
sculpture-pedestal assembly: 69 x 16-1/2 x 12 in (175.3 x 41.9 x 30.5 cm)
after Antonio Corradini (1668-1752) La Purità
1720-1725
Ca’ Rezzonico, Venice