Richard Bell was born in Charleville, Queensland, in 1953 and is of the Kamilaroi, Ji’man, Kooma and Goreng Goreng people. He lives and works in Brisbane. Bell was a founding member of art collectives the Campfire Group in 1990 and proppaNOW in 2003.

Bell is a creative provocateur who arouses audience sensibilities and consciousness by acknowledging human histories that are pivotal to the development of human rights. He speaks through art with a political voice that often communicates justice issues, sometimes with overt confrontational imagery and at other times with Australian Aboriginal humour that reflects the ability to laugh in the face of adversity.

Richard Bell was a finalist in the Basil Sellers Art Prize 1, 2008, and is represented by Milani Gallery, Brisbane.