Larry Bell at 203
203 FINE ART is currently showing a group of newly acquired Larry Bell Fractions. One of the most renowned and influential artists to emerge from the Los Angeles art scene of the 1960s, alongside contemporaries including Ed Ruscha, Bell had an international reputation by the age of 30, even earning inclusion on the cover of the Beatle’s iconic Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.
Known foremost for his refined surface treatment of glass and explorations of light, reflection and shadow through the material, Bell’s oeuvre goes beyond painting and works on paper to include sculpture and furniture design. Bell is also a musician and a collector of guitars.
Bell’s understanding of glass and light has enabled him to expand both visual and physical fields of perception in his work.
Best known for his iconic glass cubes and large-scaled illusionistic sculptures, Bell has been awarded grants from among others, the National Endowment for the Arts and the Guggenheim Foundation. His work is included in many important collections internationally, and he continues to live and work in Taos, since moving here over 40 years ago, while maintaining a studio in Venice, California.
These works come out of the Oppenheim Collection, an important assemblage of Larry Bell and other significant LA art.
These unique collages on paper were created by Bell, as part of his “Fractions” project - an exploration of perception on a flat plane. The Fractions are made from deconstructed and re-assembled, and unresolved works, that were used to create new compositions.
Nine of these are early Fractions among some of the first of the series, which began in 1996. The other two are from private Taos collections. This successful series of work appeals to the seasoned collector, as well as being accessible to new collectors of Larry Bell.