Beschreibung:

Charles Bell Miami Beach 1989 Oil on canvas. 60 x 84 in. (152.5 x 213.4 cm). Signed and dated “C. BELL 89’” lower right.
Provenance Louis K. Meisel Gallery, New York Exhibited NewYork, Gallery Henoch, Objects Observed: Contemporary Still Life, February - March, 1990; Loretto, The Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art, The Post Pop Generation, June - September, 1990; NewYork, Louis K. Meisel Gallery, Charles Bell November, 1991 Literature H. Geldzahler, Charles Bell The Complete Works 1970-1990, NewYork, 1991, pp. 124-125 and cover (illustrated); L. Miesel, Photorealism Since 1980, NewYork, 1993, no. 188, p. 71 (illustrated) Catalogue Essay Charles Bell an acclaimed American Photo-realist painter specializing inthe art of the still life, died from AIDS in 1995. Based in NewYork Cityand born inTulsa, Oklahoma, Bell created work distinguished by the factthat the subject matter depicted was on a scale as much as ten timeslife-size.The artist distilled his subjects from such popular artifacts asRaggedy Ann dolls, gumball and pinball machines, marbles, and other toys,always employing rich, vibrant and bold colors. Bell sought to bring pictorialmajesty and wonder to the mundane.The present lot, Miami Beach, from 1989 is one of Bell’s best subjects.The glass-like surface of his oil rendering distinguishes itself for itsphotographic quality, and the largely enhanced scale of the pinball machinesuggests another subject matter entirely removed from the game itself:one’s eye focuses on the sheen of the ball, the glimmer of the lights, and theserial-quality of this intensely magnified version.The pinball series, criticHenry Geldzahler suggests, are “the artist's greatest achievement – visually,technically and technologically," (H. Geldzahler, Charles Bell The CompleteWorks 1970-1990, NewYork, 1990). Read More