Solitaire Blue, Marble VI 1982

Charles Bell made ‘Solitaire Blue, Marble VI’ using oil on canvas. Bell was part of the photorealist movement, where artists created paintings that mimicked the precision and detail of photography, often focusing on everyday objects. In the late 20th century, the photorealists turned the mundane into the monumental. There is something inherently playful and nostalgic about marbles – objects often associated with childhood games. Bell’s marbles also possess qualities that invoke the sublime. The way Bell captures light and shadow gives the marble a cosmic quality, as though we are looking at a distant planet. The hyper-realistic approach invites us to really look at the subject. In a world where we are flooded with images, Bell slows us down and asks us to contemplate the beauty of the small and the ordinary. Through the lens of photorealism, these marbles transform into objects of contemplation, sparking a sense of wonder and inviting us to reflect on the beauty that surrounds us.