QUEEN NANCY BELL

First published: December 2025

Philadelphia’s Queen Nancy Bell ascended from a life of hardship to triumph with her divinely inspired, joyous paintings – and now she wants to expand her realm.

“I was a young queen at my birth, and I’m still a young queen, ” says artist Queen Nancy Bell. Born in 1961, in Philadelphia, PA – where she has lived ever since – she has had a difficult, sometimes precarious life. Despite this, she expresses joy and unwavering faith in God through her painting. Bell’s bright, mostly abstract artworks exude energy and entice the viewer’s eye, but their meanings remain obscure. By way of explanation, she says, “I get a vibe. I ease myself and meditate. As I meditate on God, everything comes down from heaven, right down on that paper.”

Queen Nancy Bell at the opening of her solo exhibition at Tiger Strikes Asteroid in 2024

She works decisively, beginning by drawing in pencil or ballpoint pen, on paper. The paintings often seem to radiate from a central motif, adorned with unexpected flourishes and detailing, as with Royal-Abundace-Abstract (sic) (2013). A few extend beyond the paper’s edge. Some are more linear, with a totemic aspect, like Apche-Abstarct (sic) (2012) and Shore Nuff (Jesus,es) (2011). Within the forms, Bell adds timeless patterns of paisleys, eyes, dots and spirals, exemplified in Jesus,es (c. 2018).

Untitled (Jesus,es), c. 2018, acrylic and ink on paper, 11 x 14 in. / 28 x 35.5 cm

Next, she mixes her colours directly on the paper with a brush, using watercolour, gouache or acrylic, often leaving the paint translucent so her drawing beneath is visible. The technique adds depth and luminosity to the works. Bell does not paint backgrounds; her designs seem to have alighted on the paper fully fledged. Occasionally, she paints animals or human figures, usually with odd or fantastical aspects, such as the simultaneously simian and reptilian Mr Lisherd in Motion (2015), and Adorable Standing Giraffes (c. 2018) with its unusual, mosaicked spots. Any titles, carefully lettered on the pictures, generally contain inexplicable elements as well.