Art Department | St. Ambrose University

Leslie Bell
Professor, Department of Art, BellLeslieB@sau.edu

medium: painting

education:
NORTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY, DeKalb, IL., M.F.A. - Painting, 1976
ST. AMBROSE COLLEGE, Davenport, IA, BA Fine Arts, 1972

about my work:
My paintings have always been about wonder, love and belonging. Lately, I have chosen to focus on Vautier's strange mobius band of time that connects childhood and adulthood. A child's admiration for and attention to an adult is returned in kind by the older person's wonderment at the resilience, resourcefulness and miraculous purity of the child.

Of course, not all children are innocent and not all adults are wise enough to appreciate innocence. My characters are predominately good with imperfections. They interest me in a way that those of apple pie purity could not. Their imperfections somehow authenticate their humanity.

In the world of my creation, innocence, courage and childish befuddlement share space with adult strivings and conundrums. They rub off on each other. The heft and texture of the paint heightens the risk, poetic ambiguity, and erotic charge of the narrative. It also helps me to create a palpable feeling of light.

solo and 2/3 person exhibitions
2007       New to Moberg, Moberg Gallery, Des Moines, IA
2006       Chinese Whispers, Quincy Art Center, Quincy, IL
              Paintings From Ten Years, Legér Fine Arts, Davenport, IA
              Iowa Artisans Gallery, Iowa City, IA
2005       Peace! (and quiet), The Peanut Gallery, Rock Island, IL
              Cornell College, Mount Vernon, IA
2003       Gallery West, Rock Island, Illinois
              Recent Work, Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, TX
2002       Show & Tell, with Sara Bell, Quad City Arts, Rock Island, IL
              Little Worlds, Quad City Airport, Moline, IL
2001       Invisible Realities, Galerie Timothy Tew, Atlanta, GA
              Wide Eyed, St. Ambrose University, Davenport, IA
1999       Color is Everything!, Galerie Timothy Tew, Atlanta, GA
1998       Love's Compass, Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, Cedar Rapids, IA
1997       Arts Iowa City, Iowa City, IA
1996       Mt. Mercy College, Cedar Rapids, IA
1995       2 Have + 2 Hold, C.S.P.S., Cedar Rapids, IA
1994       Quad City Arts Gallery, Rock Island, IL
1990       Love & Consequences, Quad City Arts Gallery, Rock Island, IL
1989       Chico Art Center, Chico, CA ; Institute for Design & Experimental               Art, Sacramento, CA
1987       University of California, San Francisco, CA
1986       James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA
1984       Michigan State University, Lansing, MI
1983       University of Denver, Denver, CO

competitive and invitational shows:
2007       Coexistence, Quad City Arts, Rock Island, IL
              Faculty Collections, Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, TX
2006       Iowa Artists: There’s No Place Like Home,
              Des Moines Art Center, Des Moines, IA
              Rock Island Fine Art Exhibition, Augustana College,
              Rock Island, IL
              Mode Art Gallery, Davenport, IA
              Church/State, Bucktown Center for the Arts, Davenport, IA
2005       Studio Art Faculty, St. Ambrose University, Davenport, IA
2003       Paying Attention, Creative Arts Workshop, New Haven, CT
2002       Five Quad City Painters, Coe College, Cedar Rapids, IA
2001       Bi-State Exhibition, Davenport Museum of Art, Davenport, IA
2000       Rock Island Fine Arts Exhibition, Augustana College,
              Rock Island, IL
1999       The Figure Confirmed, Augustana College, Rock Island, IL
1998       Quincy Quad-State Exhibition, Quincy, IL
1997       Figure 8, Rockford Art Museum, Rockford, IL
1996       Iowa Artists 1996, Des Moines Art Center, Des Moines, IA
1995       Iowa Artists 1995, Des Moines Art Center, Des Moines, IA
1994       Tongue in Chic: Humor in the 90's,Waterloo Museum of Art,
              Waterloo, IA
1993       BACA 9th Annual Juried National, Berkeley Art Center,
              Berkeley, CA
1992       Stillife/Interiors, Olson Larsen Gallery, Des Moines, IA
1991       The Figure, Vorpal Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1990       Quad City Regional Art Showcase, Davenport Museum of Art,
              Davenport, IA
1989       Photo Image League, Davenport Museum of Art, Davenport, IA
1988       Selections from the Permanent Collection, Society for
              Contemporary Photography, Kansas City, MO

awards/fellowships:
Iowa Arts Council Individual Artist's Grant

Arts Midwest/NEA Regional Visual Artist Fellowship

Individual Artist's Grant, Quad City Arts / Illinois Art Council

selected collections:
Erie Art Museum, Erie, PA
The State of Iowa, Des Moines, IA
Ohio State University, Athens, OH
Christopher Caines, NYC
Linda Downs, NYC
Joseph Chonto, NYC
Figge Art Museum, Davenport, IA
KWQC-TV, Davenport, IA
Modern Woodmen Insurance, Rock Island, IL
Society for Contemporary Photography, Kansas City, MO
Dr. Randall and Linda Lewis, Davenport, IA

represented by
The Moberg Gallery, Des Moines, IA moberggallery.com

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Leslie Bell
Lost in the Process, 2005
oil on canvas
48 x 55"