"Oh say can't you see", acrylic on canvas 60"x 65"

 

Identity, Memory & Loss #7, acrylic on canvas 67"x 38"  
 In his Elegant Universe series of paintings, Bell uses visual metaphor to explore Einstein's theories on time and the universe with meticulously placed key elements, icons, bits of memorabilia, snippets of news feeds, and other cultural artifacts. Bell's imagery is at once disturbing, humorous and thought provoking; juxtaposed against a broad color palate and ethereal backgrounds. Some of Bell's icons become reoccurring elements in his paintings which reflect his understanding of Einstein's theory that time is elliptical and is constantly repeating itself, sometimes exactly the same -- other times slightly or completely different based on our individual decisions and that all moments in time may still exist in parallel space. "When creating this series of work, explains Bell, I simply asked the question what might this theory look like as a painting -- if you could see clusters of random moments all at once. What would those images be? What visual narratives would those random moments create?"