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Bio

Scott Bell is an artist originally from Florida, who currently lives and works in Dallas, TX. In the spring of 2012 Bell received his BFA from the University of North Florida and in spring 2016 he received his MFA at Florida State University. Bell has won several academic awards and has had numerous national and international exhibitions. Bell is a active member at 500X Gallery in Dallas. Bell is currently working on concepts of focus and distraction.

News & Recent Exhibitions 

Standing Watchful

This exhibition is comprised of recent works by Dallas-based artists Jessie Barnes and Scott Bell. The viewer is invited to explore notions of focus, distraction, and unrest through dubious gazes and representations of the struggle to be present. The act of standing watchful – of guarding what is real – keeps us grounded, aware, and apt to rise.

Mixed Nuts

“Mixed Nuts” is a solo exhibition at the Ma Fille Gallery in Dallas TX. This exhibition displays a survey of works from the past four years to the present commenting on themes of media, constructed environments, and landscape.

Cut &Paste

“Fingers”, Acrylic, wood, canvas (30×21) 2018
Cut & Pasteis Scott Bell’s first solo exhibition at 500x gallery, featuring a collection of sculptural paintings. His utilization of shaped canvases comments on the built environment, while the images within create a narrative conveying the spirit of our present consumer culture. While these works are ultimately about the home and the shared experiences that a structure encapsulates, the broader scope of the work holds captive fleeting memories and the insignificant moments that define a life.

Chunk

Chunk is a project space exhibition featuring a series of new paintings and sculptural paintings by Scott Bell and Elise Thompson. The term “chunk” can refer to “a piece of something” to consume, such as cake, or a section of information built from several smaller elements.[1]These artists inquire about notions of indulgence and desire through painting at levels both commercial and personal. 
 
Bell’s works can be read as “a love letter or a red flag”. At first glance, the assembled forms and subject matter appear simple and commonplace. Geometric shapes and velvety textures call on the recognizable, like candy that could melt in your hand. Upon closer examination, bits and stories of daily American life can be found: of longing, guilt, indulgence, and impulse. Much like our culture of persuasive advertising, the packaging in these paintings mimics the consumable; attractive image and texture triggers desire.
 
Thompson’s translucent surfaces call on the problems of transparency; both physical and figurative. The painting frame is shown in varying degrees of obscured visibility through clear vinyl employing synthetic dessert-like mediums that blur, gloop, and cover. The frame and wall–where exposed–become part of the image while also disrupting it. The viewer’s inclination to explore what is above, in between, and below unveils details in the constructed image and object. Through gestures of concealing/revealing, and the suggestion of the familiar, these works allude to vulnerability, desire, and the competing inclination to either remain private, or explicitly share.


[1]Gobet, Fernand, et al. “What’s in a Name? The Multiple Meanings of ‘Chunk’ and ‘Chunking.’” Current Neurology and Neuroscience Reports., U.S. National Library of Medicine, 2016, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4746241/.

Bell on the left Thompson on the right
Top “Dream Bar1” and on the bottom “Dream Bar 2”

500x Members Show

“Sunset” on the left and “Feeling Good!” on the right
Hamburger House
Skylight