Larry Bell
Artist
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
Larry Bell (born 1939) trained at Chouinard Art Institute and participated in the 1961 War Babies exhibition at Huysman Gallery, before joining the stable of artists at the Ferus Gallery. While working at a commercial framing shop, he became fascinated by the reflection and absorption of light. Abandoning painting, he began to work with etched and mirrored glass. In 1967, he acquired a large vacuum chamber and began to coat glass with thin metallic films to create works that anticipate the Light and Space movement in their play with perception.
Works of Art
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Untitled, Wall Piece, 1967, Larry Bell. White and black glass, vacuum coated. 120 x 300 in. Collection of Michael Straus, Birmingham, Alabama. © Larry Bell
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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: Arts advocate Lyn Kienholz talks about censorship in the L.A. art scene
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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 Market Street studio in Venice, California, 1961. Image courtesy of Larry Bell, Marvin Silver and Craig Krull Gallery, Santa Monica. © Marvin Silver
