Sarah Ball, Emma (2025). Photo: Todd-White Art Photography. Courtesy of the artist and Stephen Friedman Gallery, London and New York.
ow we present ourselves to the world is a key component to defining who we are—be it hairstyles, makeup, glasses, or clothes. Physiognomy—or the practice of deducing personal qualities from outward appearance—plays a key role in the portraits of British artist Sarah Ball, whose subjects reveal tantalising details about themselves through a collection of details presented through choices in appearance. Stephen Friedman Gallery is slated to present a new body of work by the artist that further interrogates physiognomy and the human condition at Frieze London 2025, with works tapping into her own personal experiences experimenting with her appearance as a teenager.
In her first solo with the gallery in New York in 2024, “Tilted,” Ball explored the concept of 18th-century dandyism within a 21st-century framework, engaging with themes of gender, self-expression, and social conventions.
In her forthcoming Frieze London presentation, the artist zooms in, often cropping in close around the faces of her subjects, making what otherwise might be small details monumental in interpretive value.
In the works on paper, the subject meets the eye of the viewer, seeming to express an awareness of being perceived. The viewer’s eye is drawn to details: In Lydia (2025), the graphic eyeliner drawn around each eye; in Henry (2025), the retro style sunglasses; in Emma F (2025), the blue headscarf on their hair, almost out of frame.
From subtle to bold, the inclusion of these elements of self-expression present an opportunity for reflection—what conclusions are drawn from these choices personal appearance? And how do these engage with societal or cultural norms, either those of subject or viewer? Within Ball’s creative practice, identity is nothing if not malleable and fluid, an opportunity to construct and deconstruct.
Comprised of both large- and small-scale paintings and a series of 20 works on paper, the presentation also features her first double portrait, and her largest to date, Anthony and Mr Young McNair (2025). Inspired by a 17th-century work from the British School, Sir Thomas Mansel and his wife, Jane, Lady Mansel, Ball’s interpretation immortalizes the couple while ornamented with riches of handmade jewelry and opulent clothes all in shades of pink.
Coinciding with her recently opened institutional solo show “Sarah Ball: Oh! You Pretty Things” at Shanghai’s Longlati Foundation, Ball’s form of portraiture always conveys a deep sense of empathy toward her sitter and is approached as an opportunity not to simply convey wealth as in centuries past but to celebrate personal identity and self-expression.
Stephen Friedman Gallery will present the work of Sarah Ball at Frieze London, Booth B14, October 15–19, 2025
