Untitled, Wall Piece
Untitled, Wall Piece, 1967, Larry Bell. White and black glass, vacuum coated. 120 x 300 in. Collection of Michael Straus, Birmingham, Alabama. © Larry Bell
On View at the Getty Center: Pacific Standard Time: Crosscurrents in L.A. Painting and Sculpture, 1950-1970
Larry Bell’s works in glass are concerned with optical effects and with the mechanics of perception. Bell was first inspired to use etched and mirrored glass while working at a commercial frame shop when he was a student at Chouinard Art Institute, but he later turned to technologies developed in the aerospace industry. In the mid-1960s he acquired a large vacuum coating chamber that allowed him to apply thin metallic films to the surface of glass. For Untitled, Wall Piece Bell partially coated 10-foot-long strips of black and white glass with Inconel (a reflective nickel-chrome alloy). When the strips are hung at intervals along a wall up to 25 feet long, the alternation between reflective and non-reflective parts creates a striking optical effect that seems to dematerialize the wall as the viewer approaches.
Exhibition audio: Learn about Bell’s use of industrial materials.
Works of Art
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Untitled, 1969, Larry Bell. Mineral-coated glass. 40 x 40 x 40 in. Courtesy The Pace Gallery. © Larry Bell. Photo by Ellen Labenski
Explore the Archive
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Video: Joe Goode, Larry Bell, Ron Miyashiro, and Jerry McMillan speak about the exhibition War Babies, 2010–11
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Video: Larry Bell speaks about his work, March 2011
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Larry Bell in his studio in Venice, California, ca. late 1960s. Image courtesy of and © Larry Bell
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Sterling Holloway at his house, next to Larry Bell’s painting Little Blank Riding Hood (1961–62). Photo by Frank J. Thomas. Image courtesy of Larry Bell and the Frank J. Thomas Archives
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Exterior view of Larry Bell's studio on Market Street in Venice, California, ca. 1970. Image courtesy of and © Larry Bell
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Larry Bell, Billy Al Bengston, and Ken Price outside Hotel Caesars in Tijuana, Mexico, 1968. Image courtesy of Larry Bell
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Larry Bell’s studio in 1970. Photo by Larry Bell. Image courtesy of Billy Al Bengston
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Several Los Angeles artists at Culture Day at LACMA (L.A. County Museum of Art), 1968. Photo by and © Julian Wasser.
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Poster for the exhibition War Babies at Huysman Gallery in Los Angeles, May 29–June 17, 1961. Poster created by Jerry McMillan and Joe Goode. Photo © Jerry McMillan. Design © Joe Goode. The Getty Research Institute, 2006.M.1.5. Image courtesy of Jerry McMillan and Craig Krull Gallery, Santa Monica
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Larry Bell in his studio in Venice, California, 1969. Image courtesy of Malcolm Lubliner and Craig Krull Gallery, Santa Monica. © Malcolm Lubliner
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Larry Bell in his Market Street studio in Venice, California, 1961. Image courtesy of Larry Bell, Marvin Silver and Craig Krull Gallery, Santa Monica. © Marvin Silver
