Salt Dip c. 1936

John Dana’s ‘Salt Dip’ is a beautifully precise artwork that seems to have been made with watercolour and pencil. There’s such a lovely, considered quality to it. I find myself drawn to the violet colour. It’s translucent in some areas, but opaque in others, giving it an otherworldly, almost dreamlike quality. You can see how Dana carefully built up the tones to create depth and form. The play of light on the facets of the glass is so well observed. Look closely, and you can almost feel the texture of the cut glass, the slight variations in the surface. It’s like Dana is inviting us to reach out and touch it. For me, this piece has a kinship with the work of someone like Agnes Martin, in the sense that both artists use a limited palette and simple forms to create a sense of calm and contemplation. It’s a reminder that art can be both simple and profound, that it can be a way of slowing down and paying attention to the world around us.