November 13 - 30, 2021
From Daisha Board Gallery:
“YIELD
Oxford languages dictionary defines YIELD as: To give way to arguments, demands, or pressure; to give the right of way I chose the title YIELD because this is my first solo pop art show. As such I want the public to YIELD to my emergence as a pop artist. I want the viewer to YIELD in an unforced and unbribed way to the inclusion/incorporation of familiar images. I want the public to take notice; analogous to YIELDing to even the shape and color to the familiar traffic yield sign. Then I want the viewer to STOP and notice the intentional visual obliterations/changes to those familiar images; the subtle sayings, symbols and abbreviations; the juxtapositions of color that somehow come together in an acceptable and agreeable harmony. And then I want to challenge the norms. I want people to be moved. Even shocked. Because even though we are familiar with commonplace images (or YIELD signs), I must find adaptations which continue to challenge our human complacency. I want my images to be a catalyst for both reaction and conversation. By saying and depicting what a lot of people think but would rather not say. Gerald is a self taught artist that has been creating all his life. He remembers as little boy sitting at the kitchen table to watch his father paint with charcoal and oils. So his first works as a little boy were either in pencil or oils. But over the decades, his creative process has evolved from folk art to abstract to his current fascination and love of both pop art and shock art. His work begins with inspiration. Whether it’s from images of the past. An experience or obstacle he is trying to work through or overcome, a color, a revisitation of a previous piece, etc. His current pop art and outsider art features humor, to add to the experience, make light of the situation, shed light on the outcome or the situation, and eventually act as a catalyst to the viewers thought process and realization of the outcome as it pertains to each viewer.
Gerald has Asperger’s (which for some reason does not appear in the iPhone predictive text… but Dunkin’ Donuts does!). So unless the interaction AND situation is exactly like a previous one from the past, He has trouble interpreting human interaction, cues, and emotions. These include facial expressions, tone of voice, body language, etc. If he happens to notice them, these subtle cues leave him wondering for hours, even days about what they meant. And sometimes even the most obvious of cues have him trying to interpret them for a long time. He has trouble “reading between the lines”. Therefore, he has both a natural curiosity of and fascination for human interactions, how people respond.. human emotions and expressions. He finds some even futile, humorous or unnecessary, even though he has a hard time interpreting them. He does however, find it easier to notice when a person expresses genuine sincere joy and appreciation (although at times even that is hard to interpret). Gerald Bell has had two successful solo exhibitions at Gallery 440 in Fort Worth Texas. “The outsider looking in” and “100 days: The outsiders looking in”. Gerald Bell also was the grand prize winner for the Holding Space Exhibition at 500X Gallery in 2021.
ABOUT DAISHA BOARD GALLERY: DAISHA BOARD GALLERY is a contemporary art gallery representing emerging BIPOC artists in Dallas, Texas and throughout the United States. Daisha Board Gallery works in various mediums including painting, sculpture, photography, performance art and digital media. In 2017 Daisha Board founded Black Sheep Art Culture Inc., to ensure representation of marginalized artists and advocate for increased visibility for BIPOC artists in traditional and non-traditional art spaces”
Reception: November 13, 2021 | 5–8 pm
Closing: December 18, 2021 | 5–8 pm
2111 Sylvan Avenue
Dallas, 75208 Texas
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