Farewell To All That – Southwell

Sculptor Peter Eugene Ball’s final exhibition, appropriately named Farewell To All That, has opened in Southwell Minster which so inspired him as a schoolboy.

Farewell To All That – Southwell Minster

His work, over the course of an extensive career, has become an intrinsic part of our spiritual landscape.

Peter, from Newark, first visited Southwell Minster during a visit as a schoolboy in 1954, and it inspired a life-long love of Romanesque architecture and of the Minster itself.

Peter said:

“For me, Southwell Minster is the perfect setting for my final show”.

He served on the Minster Fabric Committee and in 1987, his Christus Rex was installed high above the nave, becoming a focus for contemplation and worship. Three more sculptures followed, as well as several major exhibitions.

The Very Reverend Nicola Sullivan, Dean of Southwell, said:

“We are very pleased to be hosting Farewell to All That. It is fitting to welcome Peter back home to his very own Cathedral for his final full-scale exhibition. His distinguished work has inspired and delighted visitors and pilgrims over the years.

Farewell to All That features more than 60 new works including Hawton Madonna, carved from a 14th-century beam removed from the belfry floor of a local church during recent refurbishments, a life-size Julian of Norwich and a large Ship of Fools, one of Peter’s favourite subjects.

Other works, both secular and religious, feature acrobats and dancers, pilgrims and mermaids.

Christus Rex, photo © Chris Knapton

Farewell To All That – Sculptor Peter Eugene Ball Final exhibition – Sunday 8 August to Sunday 12 September 2021