In Where Things Set, Roberley Bell’s sculptures and drawings share space, allowing us to see the conversations that take place between these distinct yet related bodies of work. Drawing is integral to Bell’s practice. She describes drawing as “a way of thinking out loud.” On paper, Bell works out ideas of form, color, and placement, working intuitively and searching for what feels right. The drawings appear spontaneous and, at times, edgy or awkward as Bell feels her way through the gestures and shapes she puts on the page.
Bell’s drawings help her find her way to three-dimensional forms. Bell creates organic forms that seem familiar yet resist identification. The sculptural works are amalgams—hybrid forms made from fabricated elements and found materials. Splashes of vivid, saturated color enhance their idiosyncrasy.
Where Things Set offers an intimate glimpse into Bell’s creative process, from initial exploratory mark-making on paper to final three-dimensional forms with varied materials, textures, and personalities. It’s an invitation to look and to think about our own ways of making sense and finding form.
— Sarah Freeman, curator
Straddling the space between representation and abstraction, my sculptures are a conglomeration of contrasting elements. The dominant features of color, form, and material push against one another as disparate materials come together in new ways and create hybridized forms. My sculptures are amalgams of many media embedded in a formal language of spatial composition. Transitory possibilities remain alive until the elemental parts are assembled into a unified whole.
My process of making is linked to ways of thinking, seeing, and reflecting on the world around me. As a sculptor working with the language of abstraction, I am continuously in search of form. I refer to this process as “finding form”—inventing form where it did not previously exist. Exploring both the combination of materials and each material’s inherent properties, I work with a wide range of materials—wood, plaster, ceramic, found and altered parts—to reveal the essence of materiality and the ability of distinct materials to elicit emotions.
— Roberley Bell
