"Larry Bell Three Decades of Art"

JIM J.TOMMANEY November 20, 2014 4:00AM

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There is a mystifying element to Larry Bell's paintings - distance seems to add further enchantment. Up too close, I felt I was missing the forest for the trees. Nicole Longnecker Gallery has wisely hung the wonderful AAAAA98 at the furthest reach, so it dominates from afar. It has a grey fish at the top, colorful vertical slivers, definitely a 3-dimensional feel, with perspective of depth. AAAAA 78 adds a highly attractive salmon color, and has some representational clues, a central roll-up window-shade, some grey fabric at the right and bottom, and a glimpse of an alien sunrise or sunset. R 26 has a silvery central rectangle, devoid of detail, but still dominating. It seems artificial, inscrutable, and strangely soothing. MVD 178 has a figure standing, though obscured, and cascading fabrics, complex, intriguing, filled with energy and the mystery that this artist infuses into his mixed media works.
Tuesdays-Saturdays, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Starts: Oct. 25. Continues through Nov. 26, 2014