Plate c. 1936

John Dana's 'Plate' is rendered with what seems to be gouache or tempera, and it is a study of a shiny plate, with light bouncing off its surface. The plate's reddish-brown color is so rich it makes me think of old lacquerware or the glaze on a ceramic pot. I can imagine John Dana carefully mixing his colors to get just the right shade, maybe adding a touch of white to make it gleam. The plate almost becomes a world. The white markings dance across the surface, and the delicate, curvilinear lines echo the plate’s circular shape. It reminds me of the experiments of artists like Agnes Martin or Josef Albers, where the repetition of lines and color becomes a form of meditation. Artists are always in conversation with one another, aren't they? Through shape, colour and surface they explore new ways of seeing and experiencing the world.