Dogoyles of Jersey City

I am proud to announce that I have received an Individual Artist Grant from the Jersey City Arts Council to bring my Dogoyle Public Art Project to Jersey City.

The purpose of this project is to identify and celebrate the love that connects us all. Pet owners share a bond of devotion akin to that of regulars of a community fixture. Establishments that foster the connection of shared joy create the identity of a neighborhood.

Each sculpture in the new series will feature a hand-sculpted ceramic Threshold Guardian, sitting atop a miniature architectural ceramic rendering of its host location. Every piece will be inspired by a real pet connected to the place the sculpture was made for and gifted, at no cost, permanently to its host.

The first sculpture in the series, pictured here, is currently in production. The in-progress artwork, yet to be painted, is an architectural hand-built clay sculpture of my first apartment in Jersey City, 2 Webster Avenue in the Heights, home of Àbákẹ́ Books and Café. The meaning of Àbákẹ́ is “To Be Loved”, a fitting title for this work.

The piece features Honey, a neighborhood rescue dog and regular visitor to Àbákẹ́, as a Dogoyle with a book in hand instead of an olive branch. On the overhang two brooding pigeons, our forgotten pets, grace the building with their love. Curled up on the doorstep is the 1lb, 6 week old kitten I found while I lived in this building.

Individuals who create a better reality for an area through their actions are defined by the space their love occupies. This project calls for consciousness of the connection each of us shares with all those we’ve never met across our city and in every city.

This project is supported by the Jersey City Arts Council and the Jersey City Arts & Culture Trust Fund.

Featured Press

Victor Bell: Sharing Joy

“He thought of the places where we go to seek out our pack – the coffee shops, the small markets, the cinemas and clubs where we meet our friends – and he envisioned placing these works there to remind people about the unconditional love to which dogs inspire us.”

“Dogoyles” Around Town

“I think the important thing that I’m trying to capture is the joy of creating, and the joy that a dog can inspire in you. When you see a dog, it inspires a feeling of love ”

Victor Bell brings the dog days to the Arts Council of Princeton

“This natural connection between dogs and people is what he hopes to reflect in his sculptures. More than just playful figures, his Dogoyles embody the way dogs try to communicate with us, forming a bond that is both instinctual and deeply emotional.”

Artist Victor E. Bell Celebrates Rescue Dogs

“Bell loves dogs — especially rescue dogs — and the unconditional love we receive from them. He also loves his Princeton community, and so the idea for “dogoyles” — a magical mix of dog, dragon, and gargoyle — was born.”