Simply sublime

The Stanley and Audrey Burton Gallery is launching 2009 with a ‘homecoming’ exhibition of new black and white abstract paintings by internationally acclaimed Leeds-born artist Trevor Bell, running from 13 January to 27 March.

Trevor Bell was a Gregory Fellow in painting at the University of Leeds from 1960-63, and it was during his time here that he first experimented with his now signature unusually-shaped canvases, which set his work apart from other abstract artists of his generation.

Four decades on, his latest exhibition ‘Nothing Extra’ (curated by Layla Bloom) shows fresh directions for the 78-year-old artist, who is now based in Cornwall since his return from the United States. Bell has pared his new works down to the bare essentials of artistic expression through line, shape and texture. As he explains, he wanted ‘nothing extra’ to intrude in these paintings. He explores concepts of purity, truth, the sublime, and the powerful forces of nature; elements which have been important throughout his 60-year career.

The exhibition coincides with the release of a new biography, Trevor Bell, authored by the Tate Britain’s senior curator Chris Stephens, charting his journey from a Yorkshire lad interested in motorbikes and jazz to revered elder statesman of British abstract art.

The Stanley and Audrey Burton Gallery (Parkinson Building) is open Monday to Friday, 10am-5pm, and entry is free. For details see www.leeds.ac.uk/gallery or phone 0113 343 2778.