Paragon 1988

Charles Bell's Paragon is a riot of colour and kitsch, a painting of a pinball machine. I can only imagine how Bell put it together, one dab of paint at a time, building up layer upon layer of vibrant, playful detail. It makes me think about the sheer joy of making something like this. What was he thinking about as he added each little element: the glistening silver ball, the muscular warrior figures, or the glowing mushroom-shaped bumpers? Look closely at those warriors, all airbrushed and ready for battle. The paint is so smooth and glossy, it’s almost like looking at a photograph, but at the same time, each stroke feels deliberate, alive. Bell must have loved the interplay between representation and abstraction, between the real and the imagined. I feel like, in the end, all artists are like pinballs, bouncing off each other, energizing one another to make new work. Painting can be a game with no fixed rules, always in motion.