Leland Bell returns with exhibition at AGS
Leland Bell’s impressively large painting that hangs in the lobby of Laurentian University’s Fraser Auditorium has continued to be contemporary.
Many of those who have attended classes, concerts and graduations have looked up and marvelled. The nine-by-40-foot painting perhaps symbolizes the university’s evolution of expression of the tri-cultural mandate.
The work, titled Survival, has been on display since the early 1980s and for many may seem even more relevant as the decades passed.
Bell is back with Miikaan – A Leland Bell Exhibit, which is something both new and true to his philosophy. Nurturing, learning, peace and passing of traditions and knowledge have always been his themes. A recurring motif has been the stars, fires and sacred circles.
Once you have seen one of his figures you will always know a work by Bell. They are not static, nor silhouettes, but have purpose, direction and dynamism. They have a definite sense of permanence.
“I had this collection on display about two months ago, but it has been almost 40 years since I last had a major exhibition,” Bell said.
During this time, he has continued to produce and has a dedicated following.
At Gallery 174, you can see works Bell started during COVID-19. “There are 13 pieces and this wall is one story.”
Bell sees this as a creative expression of a journey through life. Miikaan is four adjacent panels that together create a work 32 feet in length.
On the opposite wall, Maasoweh features five components representing the binary code.
“It is like long-form poetry,” he says. “There are Ojibway scrolls that inspired me. These tell my own personal story. They can be read in both directions.” The colours are vivid and striking. The dark outlines – characteristic of the Woodland style – make everything even more accentuated.
I ask: “why no children?”
Bell responds that all the persons are elders and knowledge keepers. “Women play an equal role in my tradition. It is remembering a phase I went through. It refers to the path, a road, a way of my life. Stars, and the Seven Teachings … truth, honesty, love are so important.”
At 71, Bell is as deep-thinking as he was always. “I first learned to paint at Castle Frank High School in Toronto. Then in the 1970s, there was an experiment at Schreiber Island (in the North Channel of Lake Huron) where I began to develop my own style. I learned much from my peers.
“I use blue for the connection to spirituality. In the beginning, I did use the colours to designate light, like yellow was the eastern horizon. Green is culture and grey is to remind us that the important things in life are not black nor white. The simplicity is the hardest part to achieve.
“The Reconciliation Forum at Laurentian opens on Tuesday. It all works together. I will be there as a participant.”
(The 2024 National Building Reconciliation Forum concludes on Thursday.)
Bell’s art decorates the exterior of the Indigenous Sharing and Learning Centre at Laurentian. He graduated from Laurentian with a degree in native studies.
Demetra Christakos, director and curator of the Art Gallery of Sudbury, reflects on Bell's work.
“We are quite pleased to use a space that was already a functioning art gallery," Christakos said. "We needed a venue and it worked well.
"Leland Bell has been a dream of ours to feature. The work fits the space. It is a suite that is meant to be seen together. Come to Gallery 174 and see the art and watch the video.”
You can visit Miikaan – A Leland Bell Exhibit in the temporary gallery at 174 Elgin St. Art handler, collection assistant and intern Darcie Brownell said it took two weeks to set up the show, which is on display until July 27.
The gallery is open Tuesday to Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
To learn more, go to artsudbury.org/en.
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Hugh Kruzel, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Sudbury Star
