Larry Bell is back with 22 new collages in his Small Figures series, a mind-melting collection of collages which use a fusion of multiple materials to create works that are at once coherent and yet visually confusing. The eye, sliding around on the metallic surfaces, struggles to get a grip on what it is seeing, the brain tested by the shifting dimensions.
New Work uses Bell’s now signature technique to achieve this extraordinary effect; a rather complicated process where paper and plastic are first coated with a thin film of vaporised metallic particles before being spliced together with layers of laminating film that act as a glue – sounds a bit like making a cheap Eastern European car, but altogether more attractive. Some of the New Mexican artist’s pieces have the quality of smoke, curling and diffusing into the space outside the frame. Others convey the crumpled textures of damage, stress and impact. The scaled-down portraits can be found at The Frank Lloyd Gallery, Santa Monica, until 8th June.
Larry Bell
SF 5.2.12 A, 2012
Photo: Alan Shaffer
Courtesy the artist and
Frank Lloyd Gallery
Larry Bell
SF 6.17.12 G, 2012
Photo: Alan Shaffer
Courtesy the artist and
Frank Lloyd Gallery
Installation shot of
Larry Bell: Recent Work
(from left to right)
SF 7.22.12 C, 2012
SF 7.23.12 A, 2012
Light Knot 30, 2013
SF 5.9.12 A, 2012
Photography: Gabriel Seri
Courtesy the artist and
Frank Lloyd Gallery
Larry Bell
SF 6.21.12, 2012
Photo: Alan Shaffer
Courtesy the artist and
Frank Lloyd Gallery
Larry Bell
SF 5.11.12 A, 2012
Photo: Alan Shaffer
Courtesy the artist and
Frank Lloyd Gallery
Installation shot of
Larry Bell: Recent Work
(from left to right)
SF 7.24.12 F, 2012
SF 5.11.12 A, 2012
SF 6.5.12, 2012
SF 5.2.12 A, 2012
SF 8.21.11, 2011
SF 6.21.12, 2012
Photography: Gabriel Seri
Courtesy the artist and
Frank Lloyd Gallery
Larry Bell
SF 7.16.12 A, 2012
Photo: Alan Shaffer
Courtesy the artist and
Frank Lloyd Gallery
Larry Bell
SF 7.19.12 E, 2012
Photo: Alan Shaffer
Courtesy the artist and
Frank Lloyd Gallery
