Carlisle Bell

BA, philosophy, University of Northern Iowa
MFA, painting, University of Delaware

Carlisle Bell's lush paintings at Grizzly Grizzly nod to modernism with a contemporary twist

by Kate Brock 03/02/2023

The treat of looking at Carlisle Bell’s big paintings in Grizzly Grizzly’s narrow gallery is that you are surrounded by paint — paint reveled in, scumbled across, scraped, bulging, or thin and aqueous. “Memory Be Green” is a show of six paintings made between 2021-2023. Iowa born and Philadelphia based, Bell’s first solo show in Philly showcases a deft use of material from modernist painting within a practice of impressive range. Sometimes he quotes directly—there are echoes of Manet, Matisse, Giacometti, El Greco—but always through repetition that initiates novel understanding.

Where these macho guys could become boggy to revisit, Bell animates his art historical focus with a sense of humor and the inclusion of the at-hand: a fly (the star of the show), a ring pop, a billowing dress, a house plant. All of these are rendered with a wild, saturated palette that explores mark-making with abandon. As compressed as some areas of the paintings become, Bell keeps his colors crisp (rich black, violets, sapphire).

In one passage he’ll pull lush, like the lavender cream and seafoam eruption in the sky of “The Offering,” ...