Marbles I 1980

Charles Bell made "Marbles I" with photorealist precision. It must have taken him forever! I imagine Bell hunched over this canvas, squinting, brush in hand. Each dab of paint, a slow, deliberate act. I bet he was really trying to catch the light as it bounces off each sphere! The surfaces are smooth, but the detail is crisp. The marbles rest on a cool surface, the shadows grounding them, but the glass is a universe of distorted color. I wonder if Bell wanted to trap fleeting moments and hold onto these glassy jewels? He's like a Dutch still life painter, but instead of goblets and oysters, we get childhood memories and the infinite cosmos. Artists like Vija Celmins also evoke something similar. "Marbles I" reminds us that painting can be a form of meditation— a way of slowing down, and really seeing.