Voluta nauseum Possibly 1962

Charles Arthur Wells Jr. made Voluta nauseum as an illustration, a simple rendering of a seashell. The charm here is in the tonality and texture; the whole composition is based on contrasting shades of grey and white to give the shell three dimensions. The object sits within a triangular shape that is darker still. It's like one of those games of perception, where you're trying to work out which tone is darker than another, and how the artist fools the eye. Look closely at the marks, they seem to be made from many tiny strokes. From a distance, they appear uniform but close-up they look quite loose and chaotic, as if the artist is building the image from the tiniest marks, patiently working one next to the other. Think of Agnes Martin, she also built the whole of the artwork from a very simple mark, working on her painting patiently over many days. The result is similar, even though their subject matter is quite different: these are thoughtful artworks, born from care and attention.