ARTIST STATEMENT
I have always been drawn to the dream-like aesthetics of film photography and I’ve developed my artistic practice around it because it offers something greater than simply a way to “take” a picture - it feels more like an alchemical technology for stopping time and recording memories in a tactile way. In a world of digital photos that mainly exist only as ethereal bits, using film feels like a supernatural act because it must be manifested into reality as a tactile, physical document.
Film feeds my impulse to document the world like a photographer, while at the same time gives me the opportunity to reconfigure the context like an artist. Like a motion picture editor piecing together film clips to create a movie, I make my film tell more complex stories by cutting and editing images to make new compositions. Cutting, combining and repeating images by hand reveals new narratives: sometimes the subjects and movements are clearly visible on casual observation, other times finding the story requires a more meditative view.
The visible editing is the aesthetic thread that weaves through all my work and opens greater latitude for interpretation.
BIO
David Bellard is a Seattle-based artist working primarily in the medium of analog film – creating transparency film compositions and constructivist studies for enlargements and projections. Bellard began his career as a graphic designer, crisscrossing the United States to work for DreamWorks in Los Angeles and The Cleveland Play House in Ohio, and completing an artist residency at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond. He spent eight years in Washington DC as the creative director for Rare, helping government agencies around the world design and implement behavior change marketing campaigns. His artwork can be found on display in corporate and private collections across the United States and Europe. Bellard currently runs Bellard Fine Art Studios in Bellevue and works full-time on his photo compositions and commissioned projects with designers and art consultants.
Bellard’s film and video work can be seen on his Vimeo Channel
ARTIST CV
EXHIBITIONS AND PUBLICATIONS
2019
• Whatcom Museum, Bellingham, WA - “Bellingham National 2019 Juried Exhibtion”
2018
• Gallery 110, Seattle WA - “Human/Nature - 8th Annual Juried Show”
• Create Magazine - Feature in Issue 10 (Summer 2018)
• Northwest Film Forum - short film accepted into the 21st Annual Local Sightings Film Festival
2017
• East City Art/Pepco Edison Gallery, Washington DC - “Emulsion 2017”
• Black Blox Gallery, Portland, OR – “Color: Photography Now”
2016
• East City Art/Gallery O on H, Washington DC - “Emulsion 2016”
People’s Choice award winner
• Strathmore Mansion, MD - “Kaleidoscopes: 200 Years”
• Hill Center Gallery, Washington DC - “2016 Regional Juried Exhibition”
2015
• FCCA, VA - "Radius of Shadows" solo show
• Studio Gallery, Washington DC - "Emerging Artists"
• ArtDC Gallery, Washington DC - "WeTweetArt V.3.0"
• Washington Printmakers Gallery, Washington DC - "Excellence in Printmaking""
• Black Whiskey, Washington DC - “Black Whole”
• Artists Television Access, San Francisco CA - “Analogica Selections” Screening
• Washington ArtWorks, MD – September 2015 – “The Land”
• Washington Project for the Arts, DC – Sept 2015 – Dec 2015 – “Massing” solo show
• Shoot 8 Screening, Den Haag, Netherlands – October 2015 – “Shoot 8 Global Super 8 Day”
2014
• OpenStudios DC, Washington DC - "Moving Show"
• New York Center for Photographic Art, NY - "New Creativity"
• Hickock Cole/WPA, DC - "WPA Art Night 2014"
• FCCA, Fredercksburg, VA - "The Human Factor"
• Atsukobarouh Gallery, Tokyo, Japan - "Paper Pirates x Tokyo"
• Analogica Film Festival, Ora, Italy - "Analogica 2014"
• FotoWeek, Washington DC - "FotoBazaar 2014"
2013
• FotoWeek, Washington DC - November 2013 - "FotoBazaar 2013"
RELATED EXPERIENCE:
JUROR
· “Op-Ed” – Art League Gallery, Alexandria, VA – October 2016
· Membership Panel Juror – Torpedo Factory, Alexandria, VA – March 2017
PROFESSIONAL
· Rare: Technical advisor to Rare’s social marketing programs around the world
· Rare: Producer for multimedia and communication projects in the U.S.
· Cleveland Play House: Art Director
· DreamWorks TV Animation: Assistant to President of TV Animation
· DreamWorks Consumer Products: Production Assistant
VOLUNTEER WORK
· Photographic Center NorthWest - Darkroom and Lab Assistant
· Smithsonian American Art Museum – Videoconference preseneter
· OpenStudios DC – resident artist
EDUCATION:
· BFA, Printmaking, Clarion University of Pennsylvania
· Artist Residency, Painting, Virginia Commonwealth University