In his inaugural solo exhibition, Adelson Galleries is proud to present a collection of sculptures by François Bel, ranging widely in theme and material yet unified by the artist's signature style. Influenced by New Realism and Pop Art, Bel has developed a vocabulary of fragmentation and symbolism in his Little Bangs series, in which deconstructed objects are frozen in acrylic. Conceived after he accidentally shattered a bottle, these works treat explosion not as destruction but as suspended energy, with movement arrested in poetic stasis.
An underlying theme throughout Bel's work is time, with a particular interest in antico-futurism: the blending of antiquity and advanced technology. In collaboration with Les Ateliers du Louvre, Bel reproduces well-known Old Master sculptures, fractured and bursting with mechanical parts. In another new series, he reproduces ancient Egyptian metallurgy techniques, suspended flawlessly within acrylic forms. Both bodies of work reveal a deep interest in art history and its lasting resonance across radically different civilizations.
Across these themes, Bel draws out the elusive, precious quality of time, a fascination reflected in the clocks and watches that recur throughout his sculptures. By encasing fragmented objects within transparent forms, he captures a moment that would otherwise occur within a fraction of a second, arrested against the pull of gravity. These preserved instants invite viewers to admire the constituent pieces that make up an object, while reminding us of time's finite, fleeting nature.