Larry S. Bell

Artist Larry Bell is best known for his Vapor Drawings. Papers of various colors, Mylar, aluminum foil, and transparent laminating films are coated with thin films of metals and non-metallic materials, such as quartz, in an industrial process called "vacuum plating" using a vacuum changer, electric currents and pure oxygen to vaporize the metal alloy into a fine coating that settls on the paper. Born in Chicago, Larry Bell received his formal education in Los Angeles at the Chouinard Institute of Art where he was mentored by painter and conceptual artist Robert Irwin. In 1973, while assisting a friend relocate to Taos, Bell himself decided to move to northern New Mexico where he still maintains his residence and studio. He has since achieved international claim for his work in various mediums and innovative techniques to convey light and space as content. Bell's work has been featured in exhibitions throughout the United States and Europe, including England, France, Germany, Australia, Spain, and Russia, as well as in Mexico and Venezuela.