CELEBRATING RESCUE DOGS: The Arts Council of Princeton’s Spring 2025 Anne Reeves Artist-in-Residence Victor E. Bell celebrates his love for rescue dogs through ceramic “dogoyles,” to be on view throughout the community this spring.

The Arts Council of Princeton (ACP) has announced Victor E. Bell as their Spring 2025 Anne Reeves Artist-in-Residence.

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. Bell crafts these whimsical ceramic sculptures specifically for locations throughout town that have special meaning to him and many in our community. His finished sculptures will be on view beginning in late May.

“Dogs bring us together as a pack in the same way that tasty food and fun bring us together as a community,” said Bell. “That feeling of protection from your pack’s love is what my sculptures are all about.”

Bell grew up in Princeton and graduated from Rowan University in 2019 with a Bachelor of Science in management information systems. During his last semester, he took one ceramics class, but could not foresee the art form becoming such a big part of his life. “I work for my family’s small business and, until recently, I did not consider myself to be much of an artist. About three years ago I got my hands back into clay, and I am so grateful. I started taking beginner ceramics classes at the Arts Council where I found a passion for sculpting dogs.”

After getting a solid foundation of skills, Bell continued his practice at Mud Matters, a studio in New York City. Even early in the development of his ceramic practice, Bell knew his goal was to somehow use his clay sculptures to help rescue dogs.

Why dogs? In 2018, Bell’s family rescued two dogs that changed their lives. “The unconditional love that a dog teaches us is truly otherworldly,” he said, and this feeling of protection is what Bell aims to capture in his sculptures. “Similar to how a gargoyle protects a space by scaring off bad spirits, my gargoyle-esque creatures bring forth the same feeling of safety which a dog provides.”

At the conclusion of his project, 12 of Bell’s finished dogoyle sculptures will be on view in the location that inspired their creation and have special meaning to him and the Princeton community as a whole. The following neighborhood fixtures will display a dogoyle from May through September: Princeton Garden Theatre, Small World Coffee, Community Park Pool, Conte’s, Princeton Record Exchange, Labyrinth Books, JaZams, Princeton Public Library, Bent Spoon, Hoagie Haven, SAVE, and the Arts Council.

Each dogoyle will feature a QR code on their label linking to SAVE and encouraging viewers to give back to rescue dogs and discover this unconditional love for themselves.

“Through creating with my own emotions for my dogs, my hope is these whimsical beasts can inspire others to create with their hands, hearts, and minds,” said Bell.

The Anne Reeves Artist-in-Residence Program, named after the ACP founding director, was established by the ACP in 2009 to offer artists the opportunity to conceptualize and create work while providing the community with creative interaction with working artists in all disciplines. This project would not be possible without the support of Timothy M. Andrews, longtime supporter of the ACP, who has generously underwritten the Anne Reeves Artist-in-Residence program.

To learn more, visit artscouncilofprinceton.org or follow @artscouncilofprinceton.