Richard Bell Review (Eryn Begley)

YOU'D BELIEVE ME IF I WAS A WHITE MAN is the title of Richard Bell’s latest exhibition at Milani Gallery in Woolloongabba, Brisbane. The artist employs the Postmodernist technique of ‘Deconstruction’ as a tool that enables a critique on the art world, of which he is a part, and encourages a dialogue regarding the state of present day Australian society.

Put another way, Deconstruction exposes or dismantles the existing structure in a system or organization and, at the same time, highlights language’s instability by focusing on the limitlessness or impossibility of interpretation of a focused text. This emphasis on the internal workings of language is a rejection of the western philosophical tradition to seek certainty through reasoning. Rather than having a unified message on display, deconstructive pieces tease the viewer, encouraging one to make their own assumptions as to the meaning(s) of the work. What becomes more important than the words themselves is the relationship of the space between the words. This deconstruction to reveal questions about the space between ideas is something Bell shares with installation artist Barbara Kruger, as a common thread throughout their work.

Kruger usually juxtaposes an appropriated, enlarged black and white photograph with a number of red banners carrying white lettering, always in the same font. The messages are short, caption-like, hard-hitting, and abrupt. Sticking to the format she formulated, using declarative phrases, with an almost accusatory tone, every piece Kruger creates is easily recognizable as her work. Likewise, Bell’s work utilizes solid blocks of strong colour coupled with short abrupt statements (usually appropriated) that intend to unnerve the viewer. The reference to binary opposition is evident as Bell constructs what he calls his ‘Bell’s Theorem’. Patches of three and four colour combinations with imbedded messages make up the bulk of the canvas expanse in each of Bell’s pieces, which are then accompanied by bold text and a Pollock-like splatter of paint in black and white.

The intention of each artist is not to ‘dumb-down’ their audience by keeping their respective formulas simple, instead encouraging a viewer to approach the artwork from a personal and intellectual space.

Integral to the work of both artists is the large scale of the pieces displayed within the confines of the gallery setting. Upon entering Bell’s exhibition one finds themself within the artwork, with a feeling that they are surrounded by the text. Similarly, Kruger enables the viewer to become the space between the text, going as far as to present her work on the ceiling and floor as well as the customary designated wall spaces.

Kruger’s 1991 installation, at the Mary Boone Gallery in New York, holds its audience within the artwork, with a feeling that they are being sucked into the text.

Comparably, by hijacking biblical slogans such as ‘the first shall be last and the last first’, ‘thou shalt not steal’, and ‘ask and ye shall receive’, Bell’s massive paintings hold a space in which a dialogue may exist that challenges modern society’s sterility.