"Alan Charlton - Paintings in the Gallery of Honour"
2001-07-06 until 2001-08-26
Stedelijk Museum
Amsterdam, , NL

This summer the Gallery of Honour is devoted to new work by the English artist Alan Charlton (b. 1948). The paintings which he has produced since 1969 are characterised by two fixed constants. These are the module of 4.5 cm, based on the standard measurement of the wood of the stretchers on which the canvases are mounted, and the colour grey, which is definitive for his monochromes.

The paint -- regular house paint -- is always applied evenly and uniformly. Nevertheless, Charlton's oeuvre demonstrates how wide the possibilities based on this manner of working and these fixed elements are for variation and for investigating the boundaries of these self- imposed restrictions. The works shown in the Stedelijk Museum consist of multiple canvases. The most extensive is 25 canvases in 5 different greys, from 1999. This work is comprised of 25 vertical rectangles which form a 19 meter long horizontal band. The constant rhythm of the 25 monochrome rectangles in a row is further modulated through the grey being applied in five different gradations, per group of five canvasses. The work creates an odd optical effect and has a great impact on the perception of the Stedelijk's Gallery of Honour.

Related Links:

Indepth Arts Resources for Netherlands

Other Important Exhibitions in Amsterdam