96
Trevor Bell (1930-2017)“I feel that what we should get from art is a senseof wonder, of something beyond ourselves, thatcelebrates our ‘being’ here.”Trevor Bell, (1930-2017)Trevor Bell was a British artist, born inLeeds, England in 1930. He passed away in2017 in West Cornwall. Bell’s creative interestfocussed primarily, on painting’s power toevoke sensation, which for him supersededany illusionistic properties. Ambitious inscale and dynamic in form, the range ofwork is diverse. His focus was a celebrationof mutable energy, elemental forces and aquest for contemplative stillness. He achievedsignificant critical acclaim and recognition forhis direct, abstract forms which emphaticallyrepresent the conflic and harmony found in thenatural world to the spiritual concerns whichconnect the inner with all that surroundsus. Chris Stephens (former head of displaysat Tate Britain) said “Bell’s art is, in theloosest sense, spiritual. It evokes, or reflects,an idea of some abstract force that exceedsmaterial reality... The dangers and losses ofthe modern world would be compensatedthrough the rediscovery of natural order andprocess, and a renewed sense of individualidentity would be established through theexploration of forces larger than ourselves.Bell’s work, one might say, has always derivedin one way or another from this new sublime.”Bell attended Leeds College of Art from1947 to 1952 and, encouraged by TerryFrost, moved to Cornwall in 1955, wherehe made his reputation as a leading memberof the St Ives School, who helped establishBritish Art on the international stage.Waddington Galleries gave Bell his first soloexhibition in 1958. Patrick Heron wrote theessay for the exhibition, stating that Bell was‘the best non-figurative painter under thirty’.In 1959 Bell was awarded the Paris BiennaleInternational Painting Prize, and an ItalianGovernment Scholarship and the followingyear was offered the Gregory Fellowshipin Painting at the University of Leeds.Throughout the 1960’s Bell showed work inmajor exhibitions in the UK and USA andduring this time his work was first purchasedfor the Tate collection. In 1973 he presentedhis work at the Whitechapel Gallery, havingjust taken part in a major exhibition at theCorcoran Gallery in Washington DC. Overthe course of the next thirty years Bellcombined painting with teaching eventuallymoving to Florida State University to becomethe Professor for Master Painting. He wenton to spend the next 20 years in America.Important exhibitions were held at theCorcoran Gallery; the Academy of Sciencesin Washington, the Metropolitan Museumin Miami, The Cummer Gallery and theMuseum of Art at Fort Lauderdale, Florida.In 1985 Bell was included in the LondonTate Gallery’s St Ives 1939-64 exhibition andin 1993 he was part of the inaugural showof the Tate St Ives. Bell had a major soloexhibition at the Tate St.Ives in 2004 and,in 2011, a further 14 works were obtained bythe Tate for their permanent collection. Bellhas works in numerous public and privatecollections internationally..‘Sharpie’mixed media on canvas, 56 x 80 x 16 cm97