Gala Bell's practice is rooted in an alchemical exploration of mater, like a crate digger, she searches for overlooked images, tracing symbolic threads to construct narratives around desire, taste, hierarchy and absurd labour. A graduate of the Royal College of Art, she has exhibited with The V&A, The Design Museum, London Design Festival, Korean Cultural Centre and Galerie Der HBKsaar. Her work has been featured in Frieze Magazine, Sotheby's Made in Bed and Saatchi's Rising Stars. She was shortlisted for Ashurst Art Prize (2021) and was runner-up for the Abbey Awards at BSR (2025). 'The Poet Takes Himself Apart' was developed while living on Büyükada Island during a searing heatwave. Combining tartan, flames and a shotgun aimed at the sun, the work explores fire as a material and metaphor. Referencing Mayakovsky's 'Tragedy', with tales of defiance from the island, the print reflects on exile, resistance and the collapse of symbolic meaning in order to reshape the future.
Gala Bell's practice is rooted in an alchemical exploration of mater, like a crate digger, she searches for overlooked images, tracing symbolic threads to construct narratives around desire, taste, hierarchy and absurd labour. A graduate of the Royal College of Art, she has exhibited with The V&A, The Design Museum, London Design Festival, Korean Cultural Centre and Galerie Der HBKsaar. Her work has been featured in Frieze Magazine, Sotheby's Made in Bed and Saatchi's Rising Stars. She was shortlisted for Ashurst Art Prize (2021) and was runner-up for the Abbey Awards at BSR (2025). 'The Poet Takes Himself Apart' was developed while living on Büyükada Island during a searing heatwave. Combining tartan, flames and a shotgun aimed at the sun, the work explores fire as a material and metaphor. Referencing Mayakovsky's 'Tragedy', with tales of defiance from the island, the print reflects on exile, resistance and the collapse of symbolic meaning in order to reshape the future.