×

Converge Gallery to host closing event and artist talk for ‘Two Faced’

The group exhibition “Two Faced” featuring two portrait artists with very conflicting styles, Michael Bell and Dillon Samuelson is coming to a close. The last day for “Two Faced” is Saturday. To give the exhibition a proper send-off, Converge Gallery is hosting a special closing event and artist talk 4-5:30 p.m. Saturday.

Michael Bell will be in attendance to chat about his process and also share some of the stories from his new book “Dual Lives.”

Samuelson is a painter and illustrator who currently lives and works in York. He graduated from the Fine Art program at York College of Pennsylvania in 2014 and the following year was awarded the third annual Appell Arts Fellowship at Marketview Arts. His work has been shown in regional exhibitions and his illustrations have appeared in books and comics accompanying the writing of authors such as Ted Kelsey and Erik Arneson.

Samuelson’s work is an exploration of human experience and emotion through storytelling and the outward manifestation of that which is often kept internal. He is interested in expressing emotional content as well as ideas of isolation, manhood and the romanticization of violence in our culture. These themes appear in his artwork through figurative representation exploring the inner workings of man by displaying it outwardly. The imagery is often distorted and symbolic rather than that of strict realism or visual likeness and uses loose marks and obscurity to express a sense of the psyche. Most of the work is self-portraiture or portraits of personal friends which gives an intimate look into the individual’s perceived experience and shares his own self-examination and search for self-knowledge.

Bell is a renowned American artist, best known for his cinematic, narrative series works and for his infamous portrait painting clientele, which includes reputed Mob Boss John Gotti and numerous actors from hit crime shows and mob movies such as “The Sopranos,” “Goodfellas,” “A Bronx Tale” and more.

Bell has always been naturally gifted in art, winning first place in the first art show he ever entered at the age of five. As an emerging artist Bell spent a lot of his time in and around New York City studying art with his maternal grandmother, Violet Vallery, a self-taught artist from Lyndhurst, New Jersey. This is when Bell began to explore life’s psychological issues through his paintings.

For more information, visit www.converge gallery.com.

NEWSLETTER

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
   

Starting at $4.62/week.

Subscribe Today