About the Artist
Michael Bell
Michael Bell is a sculptor and educator based in Jacksonville, Florida, whose work bridges the gap between the natural and industrial worlds. Currently serving as a lecturer and studio technician at the University of North Florida (UNF), Michael teaches courses on professional practices while managing the university's digital FabLab and ceramics area. His role also involves mentoring emerging artists and fostering innovation in both traditional and modern fabrication techniques.
Michael earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of North Florida in 2011. Building on his foundation in the arts, he earned an MFA from the University of Kentucky, graduating in 2018. Throughout his academic and professional career, Michael has developed a signature sculptural style that thoughtfully integrates natural and industrial materials such as wood, steel, and found objects. His works delve into the conceptual interplay between humankind and the natural environment, exploring themes of connection, conflict, and coexistence.
In his creative practice, Michael seeks to push boundaries by merging traditional craftsmanship with contemporary digital fabrication technologies. This interdisciplinary approach not only reflects his artistic vision but also informs his teaching, as he inspires students to experiment and innovate in their own practices.
Artist Statement
There is an undeniable tension woven into the fabric of the world—a precarious balance of forces teetering on a knife’s edge. This tension is a fault line, a fragile thread connecting opposing realities that constantly flirt with collapse. It is a balance of beauty and devastation, of growth and decay, all held in an uneasy but striking proportion. The world is alive with a duality: poetry and warning, indulgence and restraint, freedom and prudence. It is a delicate dance of contradictions, a narrative that speaks to both the wonder and the fragility of existence.
Through my work, I seek to explore this tension, giving form to the invisible forces that hold our world in flux. My material language is rooted in the elemental—hewn timber and cold iron, materials that have been shaped, weathered, and transformed. These materials carry their own histories, speaking to cycles of change, permanence, and impermanence. Timber is both alive and fractured, while iron is both rigid and malleable, embodying the same paradoxes that I see reflected in the natural world.
My process is deeply intuitive, guided by a reverence for the elements. Water softens edges, fire defines them, and steel slices through with precision. These materials and processes are not merely tools; they are metaphors, echoing the balance of softness and sharpness, creation and destruction that permeates our existence.
When I look at the world, I see the fault line that runs through everything—the pendulum of balance swinging between opposites. My sculptures are a reflection of this vision, a way of grounding the ephemeral tensions of life into tangible forms. They are not just objects but invitations: invitations to see the beauty in fragility, to feel the weight of what is both fleeting and eternal, and to recognize our place in this intricate, precarious equilibrium.
Through my work, I hope to awaken a deeper awareness of the delicate interconnections that define our lives and our world, and to remind us of the poetry—and the responsibility—woven into the act of simply being.