Mike Bell Pop Surrealist

Born in Atlantic City in 1960, a time and place rich with imagery and
influences close to home and in the media. Saturday mornings and
afternoons watching classic horror movies and the best cartoons ever
created. Throughout grammer school and high school Mike spent countless
hours drawing and painting.

The College of New Jersey provided him with the tools he needed to pursue a
future in Advertising Art - Majoring in Advertising Design with a
Minor in Illustration.

Mike has spent 25 years in the advertising field, starting out as a designer
and eventually spending the last 10 years as Creative Director at
Masterminds and 1 Trick Pony.

His artwork has been shown in galleries throughout the U.S. from New York to
San Francisco. He was featured in the recently published book Edgy Cute by
Mark Batty Publishing, New York. Mike¹s ³matchbook art² is currently touring
the Ripley¹s ³Believe it or Not² Museums.

Gallery Listing

Lime Light Gallery, New York
Orbit Gallery, New York &
New Jersey
Toy Room Gallery, San Francisco
DVA Gallery, Chicago
The Parlor Gallery, Asbury Park0
Metropolis Gallery, Pennslyvania
Discovery Galleries, Bethesda
Kustom Kulture Gallery, New York
Lunar Boy Gallery, ArizonaThe Shooting Gallery, San Francisco
Wind Up Gallery, Arizona
Blue Bottle Gallery, Seattle
Chora Leon Gallery, New Jersey
BottleNeck Gallery, New York
423 Gallery, San Francisco
Hero Complex Gallery, Oregan
Arch Enemy Gallery, Philadelphia
LTD Gallery, Oregan
Atomic Toybot Gallery, Ontario
Noyes Museum, New Jersey
Imogen Gallery, Oregan

Mike Bell
Pop Surrealist

Born and raised at the Jersey Shore, Mike Bell¹s artwork blends an aura of
nostalgia and humor, combined with vivid color and a combination of
influences. Iconic New Jersey images, vintage toys, punk rock, classic
monsters, Japanese cartoons and carnival imagery are among the cultural
forces that have shaped his art. The juxtaposition of counterculture with
modern day influences are the blueprint for Bell¹s
canvases. His paintings have broad powerful strokes but small details are
not to be overlooked. This leaves a hazy distinction between cartoony and
illusionistic. The outcome is a world where the weird is wonderful and the
inhuman is alive.

The New York Optimist

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