Born in New York in 1972, Thomas Bell is an active visual, sonic, performance and multimedia artist currently based in St. Petersburg, FL. Integrating mediums across artistic platforms is a primary focus of his work along with the use of improvisation, collaboration and exploration as devices to create. A life-long musician, Thomas studied Jazz Performance at Berklee College of Music in Boston and Ethnomusicology at Florida State University. He has performed in a variety of musical settings across the United states while moving between Boston, Ft Lauderdale, Tallahassee, Chicago, Seattle, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Brooklyn, Detroit and St Petersburg.
Thomas has been an active visual artist over the past two decades creating a body of work that includes painting, sculptures, found object art, collaborations and installations. He has presented work in solo and group exhibitions in NYC, Seattle, Philadelphia, Miami, Detroit, Chicago, San Diego, San Francisco and Mexico and has work in private collections across the United States.
While in Brooklyn (2003-2012), Thomas was a co-founder of Bushwick Open Studios in 2006, which led to the development of the nonprofit Arts In Bushwick the following year. Thomas founded Spread Art in 2008 to support emerging artists through group and solo exhibitions, performance showcases and residencies. He served as the Managing Director of the Center for Performance Research, a nonprofit performance facility in Brooklyn, NY from 2010 to 2012 before relocating to Detroit. Thomas served as the Spread Art Founding Artistic Director (2008-2017) & Co-Director (2012-2015).
Artist Statement
As a self trained visual artist, process and discovery are very important aspects of realizing works for me. I began my venture into the visual arts world in 1999 and quickly utilized the act of improvisation within the creation of my works. With my formal education in jazz improvisation and ethnomusicology, this only seemed natural to the creative process. While my creative output includes visual, multimedia, sonic, and performance art, the focus of this statement is concentrated on recent visual work.
Over the last 15 years I have become more focused on “collage paintings” that utilize a process of discovery informing the actions I take to create the work itself. Similar to free improvisation, the direction of the work is dependent on what comes before and the result is not known until the work is finished. Often referred to as, ‘weathered’ or ‘stressed’ because of the look of the work, these “collage paintings” are achieved by applying layers of paper collage (newsprint, magazines, etc) in between layers of acrylic paint and ink then partially removing layers to reveal the story underneath. The true energy of the work unfolds as it creates a multi layered narrative of society at large. More recently I have begun to incorporate singular themes, concepts and subject matter into the works exploring cultural, historical and political conditions as well as immediately relevant social issues.
I began this process when I first arrived in New York City in 2003 as I witnessed the various subway ads and billboards around the city decay over time and become an entirely new story through the layers and layers of advertisements underneath. Initially meant to grab the attention of the consumer for that one moment, the story was now a very different one that held more than one perspective exposing a tension to be considered. With use of vibrant colors and raw emotional energy, my goal is to engage the audience, even just for a moment, to consider their surroundings, their reality, their world viewpoint, and place. Hopefully, if you look beyond the initial glance, that engagement dives deep into the collective and individual consciousness.