ABOUT

as a child, i ran around in glittery fairy wings drawing rainbows everywhere. the colors transported me to fantasy worlds that offered an escape from what i learned to call depression and anxiety. 

my drawings and paintings still emerge where my mental health and imagination collide. inspired by the natural world, these multimedia compositions depict invented environments and organisms born from memory, emotion, and dream. my work, which helps me navigate my mental health, is an invitation to viewers to wander within their own imaginations.

my practice reflects my curiosity about contemporary discourse around mental health, as well as the social applications of creativity.

bel gold (she/her, b. 1995 in Philadelphia, PA) currently lives and works between Philadelphia and Baltimore, MD. in 2017, gold received a BS in studio art and international relations from Skidmore College. she began her MFA and MA degrees at the San Francisco Art Institute (SFAI) in August 2019. following SFAI’s closure in spring 2020, gold transferred to the Mount Royal School of Art at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA). she received her MFA from MICA in spring 2023. gold currently works as professor of painting and drawing at Loyola University Maryland. in the coming years, she hopes to pursue a PhD surveying the intersection of psychology, mental health, and creativity.