Salt Cellar c. 1936

John Dana made this design for a salt cellar using pencil and watercolor. The controlled palette gives a sense of refinement. It’s all muted yellows and blues, giving this image an orderly feel. It looks like Dana approached art-making as a delicate process, a kind of dance between intention and control. There's such beauty in how the light catches each facet of the glass, rendered with precise lines and soft washes of color. Look at the way he's captured the translucence of the glass, particularly in the upper rendering of the cellar. The details create the impression of depth and texture, making the design almost tangible. It’s as though we could reach out and touch its cool, smooth surface. I like the repetition and the sense of balance. Thinking about someone like Agnes Martin or, more recently, Tomma Abts, there’s a similar interest in structure and repetition as a kind of language. Art becomes a conversation across generations, an exploration of endless possibilities, without having to say one thing.