Waterfall Angel 

Curator: Julie Bell’s painting "Waterfall Angel," just pulls you in, doesn't it? Editor: Yes, it's immediately striking. All those swirls of intense color; it feels like a fever dream rendered in acrylic. How was it produced? It has the energy of action painting with layers suggesting glazes or washes. Curator: I find myself drifting. She looks like a river spirit who's collected all of her feelings and turned them into these almost brutally bright flowers, doesn’t she? I imagine that acrylic gave Bell the speed she needed to capture those cascading emotional layers in the water itself. Editor: Speed yes, and perhaps economy. Acrylic is less costly than oil, especially when applied so lavishly across the support, maybe canvas or linen. These choices certainly shape how Bell builds this dreamlike figure emerging out of abstract forms that evoke nature’s vitality alongside labor questions around access. Curator: Yes! Because she rises—a powerful form taking dominion of color and land. Do you notice how it defies conventions by representing that elusive sensation as the convergence of pure, vibrant feeling, then anchoring it in solid materials like water and flesh. It’s… brave. Editor: Anchoring maybe. There’s some vulnerability created when figuring female beauty is set adrift from the historical means women become subjects/objects in visual culture while relying so deeply on traditional techniques instead turning against the institutions supporting those forms and practices – almost. It speaks volumes despite its neo-expressionistic character. Curator: Neo-expressionist! Absolutely, with Fauvist colors turned up even louder. But look closer: those facial features and fluid forms. See how all those material properties and the speed of handling come together in the most intense form ever for our bodies when nature touches all our boundaries, and they merge together beautifully with color? Editor: Well put about beautiful things in those colors coming back or reaching outside oneself into all colors used together. It's a real testament to acrylic paint for capturing dreamlike moments reflecting our current socio-political climate, as we attempt shifting the foundation of our collective identity Curator: I think that sentiment applies to this entire museum's message perfectly! Editor: Exactly the synthesis required by history lessons everywhere