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Alan Charlton

“Alan Charlton is an artist who makes a gray painting”—so goes the artist’s self-stated epigram. In the 1970s, Charlton famously decided to make monochromatic paintings using only shades of gray and canvases whose dimensions are factors of 4.5 cm. He settled on gray because he considered it the epitome of ordinary, but quickly realized the color’s permutable potential and expressiveness. Though he works within these strict parameters, Charlton has explored a wide variety of formal possibilities and combinations using his limited materials. He tends to work serially and methodically through iterations of an idea.

Alan Charlton (b. 1948, Sheffield, UK) lives and works in London. He was the subject of solo museum exhibitions at Museum Kurhaus Kleve (2008), Künstlerhaus Palais Thurn und Taxis Bregenz (2006), Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam (2001), Carré d’Art - Musée d’art contemporain de Nîmes (1997) and Stedelijk Van Abbemuseum (1982). His work has been collected by prestigious public and private collections worldwide.

Alan Charlton, Channel Painting No. 4, 1974, acrylic on canvas, 2 parts, 180 x 166.5 x 4.5 cm

I want my paintings to be abstract, direct, urban, basic, modest, pure, simple, silent, honest, absolute.

Alan Charlton

Biography

Education

  • 1965 - 1966

    Sheffield School of Art, Sheffield, UK

  • 1966 - 1969

    Camberwell School of Art, London, UK

  • 1969 - 1972

    Royal Academy Schools, London, UK

Solo Exhibitions

  • 2023

    Ceysson & Bénétière, Lyon, France

    Gallery Shilla, Daegu, South Korea

    Gallery Shilla, Seoul, South Korea

  • 2022

    A arte Invernizzi, Milan, Italy

    Galerie Tschudi, Zürich, Switzerland

  • 2021

    Konrad Fischer Galerie, Berlin, Germany

    Konrad Fischer Galerie, Düsseldorf, Germany

  • 2020

    Galería Cayón, Madrid, Spain

    A arte Invernizzi, Milan, Italy

  • 2019

    De Brock, Knokke, Belgium

    Galerie Jean Brolly, Paris, France

    Slewe Gallery, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Galerie Tschudi, Zuoz, Switzerland

  • 2018

    A arte Invernizzi, Milan, Italy

    Annely Juda Fine Art, London, UK

  • 2017

    Konrad Fischer Galerie, Berlin, Germany

    Walter Storms Galerie, München, Germany

    Noire Gallery, Torino, Italy

  • 2016

    Galerie Jean Brolly, Paris, France

    Patrick De Brock, Knokke, Belgium

    Art Unlimited, Basel, Switzerland

  • 2015

    Galerie Tschudi, Zuoz, Switzerland

    Gallery Shilla, Daegu, South Korea

    Galería Miguel Marcos, Barcelona, Spain

    Slewe Gallery, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Konrad Fischer Galerie, Düsseldorf, Germany

  • 2014

    Annely Juda Fine Art, London, UK

    A arte Invernizzi, Milan, Italy

  • 2013

    Alfonso Artiaco, Naples, Italy

    Jean Brolly, Paris, France

    Holger Priess Galerie, Hamburg, Germany

  • 2012

    Konrad Fischer Galerie, Berlin, Germany

    Patrick De Brock, Knokke, Belgium

    Palazzo Municipale, Morterone, Italy

  • 2011

    Gallery Shilla, Daegu, South Korea

    Slewe Gallery, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    A arte Invernizzi, Milan, Italy

    Couvent de la Tourette, Éveux, France

    Galerie Tschudi, Zuoz, Switzerland

    Konrad Fischer Galerie, Düsseldorf, Germany

  • 2010

    Galería Miguel Marcos, Barcelona, Spain

    Studio d'Arte Contemporanea Pino Casagrande, Rome, Italy

  • 2009

    Patrick De Brock, Knokke, Belgium

    Johyun Gallery, Busan, South Korea

    Alfonso Artiaco, Naples, Italy

    Bernier/Eliades Gallery, Athens, Greece

    Villa Pisano Bonetti, Bagnolo di Lonigo, Italy

    Galerie Jean Brolly, Paris, France

  • 2008

    Konrad Fischer Galerie, Berlin, Germany

    Museum Kurhaus Kleve, Kleve, Germany

    Cairn Gallery, Pittenweem, Scotland, UK

    Johyun Gallery, Busan, South Korea

    Galerie Tschudi, Zuoz, Switzerland

  • 2007

    Annely Juda Fine Art, London, UK

    A arte Invernizzi, Milan, Italy

    Galerie Jean Brolly, Paris, France

  • 2006

    Künstlerhaus Palais Thurn und Taxis, Bregenz, Austria

    Galerie Tschudi, Glarus, Switzerland (with Leslie Foxcroft)

    Dorrie * Priess, Berlin, Germany

    Annandale Gallery, Sydney, Australia

  • 2005

    Art Unlimited, Basel, Switzerland

    A arte Invernizzi, Milan, Italy

  • 2004

    L.A.C. Lieu d’Art Contemporain, Sigean, France (with Leslie Foxcroft)

    Galeria Foksal, Warsaw, Poland

    Galería Miguel Marcos, Zaragoza, Spain

    Marcus Richter, Berlin, Germany

    Galerie Tschudi, Zuoz, Switzerland

    Alfonso Artiaco, Naples, Italy

  • 2003

    Galería Miguel Marcos, Barcelona, Spain

    Galerie Lydie Rekow, Crest, France

  • 2002

    House of Art, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic

    Inverleith House, Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh, UK

    Sleeper Exhibition Space, Edinburgh, UK

    Chateau du Fraisse, Fraisse, France

    A arte Invernizzi, Milan, Italy

    Museum Kurhaus Kleve, Kleve, Germany

  • 2001

    Annely Juda Fine Art, London, UK

    Galerie Tschudi, Glarus, Switzerland

    Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Konrad Fischer Galerie, Düsseldorf, Germany

    Stark Gallery, New York, NY, USA

  • 2000

    Galerie Liliane & Michel Durand-Dessert, Paris, France

    Galerij S65, Aalst, Belgium

    Alfonso Artiaco, Naples, Italy

  • 1999

    Hohenthal und Bergen, Berlin, Germany

    Alfonso Artiaco, Naples, Italy

    Stark Gallery, New York, NY, USA

    A arte Invernizzi, Milan, Italy

    Galerie Tschudi, Glarus, Switzerland

    Espace d'Art Contemporain, Demigny, France

    Dörrie * Priess, Hamburg, Germany

  • 1998

    Konrad Fischer Galerie, Düsseldorf, Germany

    Henry Moore Institute, Leeds, UK

  • 1997

    Ridinghouse, London, UK

    Carré d'Art, Musée d’Art Contemporain de Nîmes, France

    Pino Casagrande, Rome, Italy

    Museum Moderner Kunst Landkreis Cuxhaven, Otterndorf, Germany

    Kunstverein in Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany

    Palazzo Municipale, Vignate, Italy

  • 1996

    Galerie Tschudi, Glarus, Switzerland

    Annely Juda Fine Art, London, UK

    Modulo, Lisbon, Portugal

    Cairn Gallery, Nailsworth, UK

    A arte Invernizzi, Milan, Italy

  • 1995

    Alfonso Artiaco, Naples, Italy

    Galerie Stadtpark, Krems, Austria

    2nd Exhibition Space, Reykjavik, Iceland

    Galerij S65, Aalst, Belgium

  • 1994

    Foksal Gallery, Warsaw, Poland

    Pino Casagrande, Rome, Italy

    John Gibson Gallery, New York, NY, USA

    Galerie nächst St. Stephan, Vienna, Austria

    A arte Invernizzi, Milan, Italy

    Burnett Miller, Los Angeles, CA, USA

  • 1993

    Victoria Miro, London, UK

    Galerie Liliane & Michel Durand-Dessert, Paris, France

    Galerie Tschudi, Glarus, Switzerland

    Kunsthaus Glarus, Glarus, Switzerland

    Hohenthal und Bergen, Munich, Germany

  • 1992

    Konrad Fischer Galerie, Düsseldorf, Germany

    Alfonso Artiaco, Naples, Italy

    Cairn Gallery, Nailsworth, UK

    Museum Haus Esthers, Krefeld, Germany

    Burnett Miller, Los Angeles, CA, USA

  • 1991

    Louver Gallery, New York, NY, USA

    Bernier/Eliades, Athens, Greece

    Hallen für neue Kunst, Schaffhausen, Switzerland

    Galerie Tschudi, Glarus, Switzerland

    ICA Institute of Contemporary Art, London, UK

    Victoria Miro, London, UK

  • 1990

    Galerie Pierre Huber, Geneva, Switzerland

    Galerie Grässlin-Ehrhardt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany (with Ulrich Rückriem)

    Städelschule, Frankfurt am Main, Germany (with Ulrich Rückriem)

    Alfonso Artiaco, Naples, Italy

    Graeme Murray Gallery, Edinburgh, UK (with Leslie Foxcroft)

    Victoria Miro, Florence, Italy

    Rosemarie Schwarzwälder, Vienna, Austria

    Galerij S65, Aalst, Belgium

    Galerie Nächst St. Stephan, Vienna, Austria

  • 1989

    Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, Paris, France

    Galerie Liliane & Michel Durand-Dessert, Paris, France (with Ulrich Rückriem)

    Konrad Fischer Galerie, Düsseldorf, Germany

    Delfryd Celf, Caernarfon, Wales, UK

    Victoria Miro, London, UK

    Delfryd Celf, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Galerie Tschudi, Glarus, Switzerland

    Castello di Rivoli, Torino, Italy

    Dörrie * Priess, Hamburg, Germany

  • 1988

    Victoria Miro, London, UK

    Starkmann, London, UK

    Art & Project, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Michael Klein, New York, NY, USA

    Galerij S65, Aalst, Belgium

    Palais des Beaux-Arts de Charleroi, Charleroi, Belgium

    Delfryd Celf, Caernarfon, Wales, UK

  • 1987

    Galerie des Beaux-Arts, Nantes, France (with Richard Long)

    Palais Saint Pierre – Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon, Lyon, France

    Delfryd Celf, Caernarfon, Wales, UK

  • 1986

    Art & Project, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Victoria Miro, London, UK

    Galerie Liliane & Michel Durand-Dessert, Paris, France

    Galerij S65, Aalst, Belgium

    Konrad Fischer Galerie, Düsseldorf, Germany

  • 1985

    Graeme Murray Gallery, Edinburgh, UK

    John Hansard Gallery, Southampton, UK

  • 1984

    Gerald Just, Hannover, Germany

    Konrad Fischer Galerie, Düsseldorf, Germany

  • 1983

    Konrad Fischer Galerie, Düsseldorf

    Art & Project, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Wild & Hardebeck, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Galerie Liliane & Michel Durand-Dessert, Paris, France

  • 1982

    Konrad Fischer Galerie, Düsseldorf, Germany

    Stedelijk Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven, The Netherlands

  • 1981

    Lisson Gallery, London, UK

  • 1980

    Michele Lachowsky, Brussels, Belgium

    Graeme Murray Gallery, Edinburgh, UK

    Art & Project, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Galerie Liliane & Michel Durand-Dessert, Paris, France

  • 1979

    Galerie Konrad Fischer, Düsseldorf, Germany

    InK, Halle für internationale neue Kunst, Zurich, Switzerland

  • 1978

    Ausstellungsraum Ulrich Rückriem, Hamburg, Germany

    Lisson Gallery, London, UK

    Barry Barker, London, UK

    Rolf Preisig, Basel, Switzerland

    Graeme Murray Gallery, Edinburgh, UK

    Galerie Liliane & Michel Durand-Dessert, Paris, France

  • 1977

    Galerie Liliane & Michel Durand-Dessert, Paris, France

    Art & Project, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Konrad Fischer Galerie, Düsseldorf, Germany

    9 Channel Paintings, Each Exhibited Simultaneously in 9 British City Art Galleries

  • 1976

    Leo Castelli Gallery, New York, NY, USA

    Stedelijk Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven, The Netherlands

    Lisson Gallery, London, UK

    Rolf Preisig, Basel, Switzerland

    Galeria Ghiringhelli-Sperone, Milan, Italy

  • 1975

    Konrad Fischer Galerie, Düsseldorf, Germany

    Bruno Bischofsberger, Zurich, Switzerland

    Modern Art Oxford, Oxford, UK

  • 1974

    Galleria Gian Enzo Sperone, Torino, Italy

    Sperone-Fischer Gallery, Rome, Italy

    Art & Project, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

  • 1973

    Nigel Greenwood, London, UK

    Konrad Fischer Galerie, Düsseldorf, Germany

  • 1972

    Konrad Fischer Galerie, Düsseldorf, Germany

    Nigel Greenwood, London, UK

    The Whitechapel Art Gallery, London, UK

Selected Group Exhibitions

  • 2018

    REFLECTION about, about REFLECTION, Galerie Tschudi, Zuoz, Switzerland

    UNTITLED (MONOCHROME), 1957-2017, Richard Taittinger Gallery, New York, NY, USA

    one colour, PPC Philipp Pflug Contemporary, Frankfurt am Main, Germany

    50 Years, 50 Artists, Annely Juda Fine Art, London, UK

  • 2017

    Light / Dark, Annely Juda Fine Art, London, UK

    Carlos Cruz-Diez & la Donation Albers-Honegger. Dialogues concrets, Espace de l’Art Concret, Château de Mouans, Mouans-Sartoux, France

    The Everywhere Studio, ICA Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami, FL, USA

  • 2016

    Wall of 8 Greys, Art Basel Unlimited, Basel, Switzerland

    Steven Aaldes, Alan Charlton, Ulrich Erben, Walter Storms Galerie, Monaco

    30th Anniversary, Galleria Alfonso Artiaco, Napoli, Italy

  • 2015

    Summer Exhibition, Royal Academy of Arts, London, UK

    30 years, Galerie Tschudi, Zuoz, Switzerland

    Alan Charlton, Balthasar Burkhard, Dan Walsh, Galerie Tschudi, Zuoz, Switzerland

    Cromophobia, Gagosian Gallery, Gèneve, Switzerland

  • 2014

    Jingle Bells, De Brock, Knokke, Belgium

    Morterone: una soglia poetica. Natura Arte Poesia, Palazzo delle Paure, Lecco, Italy

  • 2012

    Les 10 ans de la Galerie Jean Brolly, Bastille Design Center, Paris, France

    Bilder, Holger * Priess Galerie, Hamburg, Germany

    Immagine della luce. Artisti della contemporaneità internazionale per Villa Clerici, Galleria d’Arte Sacra dei Contemporanei di Villa Clerici, Milan, Italy

  • 2011

    Alan Charlton Ulrich Rückriem Niele Toroni, Traiettorie dell’equilibrio, A arte Invernizzi, Milan, Italy

  • 2010

    Fundamental Painting, Tate Britain, London, UK

  • 2009

    Le Mythe du Monochrome, Espace de l’art concret, Mouans Sartoux, France

    Sammlung XXL, Kunstraum Alexander Bürkle, Freiburg, Germany

    Temi & Variazioni. Dalla grafia all’azzeramento, Collezione Peggy Guggenheim, Venice, Italy

  • 2008

    REVIEW - Galerie NEU, Berlin, Germany

    Private / Corporate V, Daimier Contemporary, Berlin, Germany

    A Room of One’s Own - Museo d´arte contemporanea Castello di Rivoli, Turin, Italy

    Alan Charlton, Ulrich Rückriem, Ragna Robertsdottir, recursive shadows, Bury Art Museum & Sculpture Centre, Bury, UK

  • 2007

    Charlton - Förg - Martin – Toroni, De Brock, Knokke, Belgium

    Dedica, PAN Palazzo delle Arti di Napoli, Napoli, Italy

    Who’s got the Big Picture?, MuHKA Museum voor Hedendaagse Kunst Antwerpen, Antwerp, Belgium

  • 2006

    Horizontales Verticals Seules, Musée de Pontoise, Pontoise, France

    Dedica 1986-2006: vent’anni della galleria Alfonso Artiaco, Pan, Palazzo delle Arti Napoli, Naples, Italy

    regard 02, minimalismes - Espace de l’art concret, Mouans Sartoux, France

    Alan Charlton & Lesley Foxcroft, Galerie Tschudi, Glarus, Switzerland

    La collection de la Société Générale, Musée d'Art moderne de Saint-Etienne, Saint-Etienne, France

  • 2005

    Grey Maze, Art Basel, Basel, Switzerland

  • 2004

    L’art au futur antérieur, Musée de Grenoble, Grenoble, France

    Beyond Geometry, LACMA Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA, USA; PAMM Pérez Art Museum Miami, Miami, FL, USA

  • 2002

    Colour – A Life of its Own, Mucsarnok/Kunsthalle, Budapest, Hungary

    The Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition, London, UK

    Blast to Freeze, Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg, Wolfsburg, Germany

  • 2001

    UK in the Seventies, Galerie Liliane & Michel Durand-Dessert Gallery, Paris, France

    Andre, Charlton, Toroni, CAN Centre d’art Neuchâtel, Switzerland

    Paintings Abstract, Konrad Fischer, Düsseldorf, Germany

  • 1998

    Arterias, Malmö Konsthall, Sweden

  • 1996

    Monochrome Geometrie, Sammlung Goetz München, Germany

  • 1995

    From Here, Waddington Galleries, London, UK

  • 1994

    Punishment & Decoration, Hohenthal und Bergen, Cologne, Germany

    Conversation Pieces, ICA Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Dorrie + Priess, Hamburg, Germany (with Lesley Foxcroft and Jurgen Albrecht)

  • 1993

    Leo Castelli, New York, NY, USA

    Marginal, Galerie Sophia Ungers, Cologne, Germany

    Espace Libéré, Espace de l'Art Concret, Château de Mouans, Mouans-Sartoux, France

    Singular Dimensions in Painting, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, NY, USA

  • 1992

    Burnett Miller, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Abstrakte Malerei zwischen Analyse und Synthese, Galerie nächst St. Stephan, Vienna, Austria

    Das offene Bild, Westfalisches Landesmuseum, Munster, Germany

    La Realidad Desautorizada, Gamarra Garrigues Gallery, Madrid, Spain

  • 1991

    After Reinhardt: The Ecstasy of Denial, Tomoko Ligouri Gallery, New York, NY, USA

    Histoires d'œil, Palais Saint-Pierre – Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon, Lyon, France

  • 1990

    Alan Charlton, Gerhard Richter, Michel Verjux, Galerie Liliane & Michel Durand-Dessert, Paris, France

    Régions de Dissemblance, Château de Rochechouart, France

    Hommage aan Vincent van Gogh, Haags Gemeente Museum, The Hague, The Netherlands

    Acquisitions récentes, Pierre Huber, Geneva, Switzerland

    Interventions, AGO Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Canada

    Drawing, Laure Genillard Gallery, London, UK

  • 1989

    Prospect 89, Frankfurt am Main, Germany

    Alan Charlton, Carl Andre, On Kawara, Galerie Nächst St. Stephan, Vienna, Austria

    Broken Lines, Victoria Miro, London, UK

    Stiftung fur konkrete Kunst, Zurich, Switzerland

    Hommage aux Collections particulières en France, Galerie Liliane & Michel Durand-Desser, Paris, France

  • 1988

    Becht Collection, Villeneuve d’Ascq, France

    Colour Alone, the Monochrome Experience, Palais Saint Pierre – Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon, Lyon, France

    The Presence of Painting, Sheffield; Newcastle; Birmingham, UK

    Delfryd Celf in London, Victoria Miro, London, UK

    Charlton, Garouste, Kounellis, Penone, Galerie Liliane & Michel Durand-Dessert, Paris, France

  • 1987

    The Rigorous Imagination, Graeme Murray Gallery, Edinburgh, UK

    Collection Agnès et Frits Becht, Centre Régional d'Art Contemporaine Midi-Pyrénées, Toulouse, France

  • 1986

    Falls the Shadow, Hayward Annual 1986, Hayward Gallery, London, UK

    Focus on British Art, ICC Internationaal Cultureel Centrum, Antwerp, Belgium

    Eye Level, anniversary exhibition of permanent collection, Stedelijk Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven, The Netherlands

  • 1984

    F. Becht Collection, Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    ROSC, Guinness Hop Store, Dublin, Ireland

    At the Serpentine, Serpentine Gallery, London, UK

    The British Art Show, Birmingham; Edinburgh; Sheffield; Southampton, UK

    Ouverture, Castello di Rivoli, Torino, Italy

  • 1982

    documenta 7, Kassel, Germany

  • 1981

    New Spirit in Painting, Royal Academy of Arts, London, UK

    New Works of Contemporary Art & Music, The Fruit Market Gallery, Edinburgh, UK

    Orchard Gallery, Londonderry, Northern Ireland

  • 1980

    Pier + Ocean, Hayward Gallery, London, UK

    Rijksmuseum Kröller-Muller, Otterlo, The Netherlands

    Die Sammlung Panza di Biumo, Kunsthalle Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany

  • 1979

    Un Certain Art Anglais, ARC, Musée d'Art Moderne de la ville de Paris, Paris, France

    JPZ, Palais des Beaux-Arts, Brussels, Belgium

  • 1978

    Fracture du Monochrome Aujourd'hui en Europe, ARC, Musée d'Art Moderne de la ville de Paris, Paris, France

  • 1977

    Cinq Jeune Artistes Anglais, Culture de Metz Centre, Maison de la Culture de Bourges, France

    Lisson Gallery Group Show, The Fine Art Building, New York, NY, USA

  • 1976

    Arte Inglese Oggi, Palazzo Reale, Milan, Italy

    Cronaca, Galleria Civica di Modena, Modena, Italy

    Colours in Painting, Istituto Italo-Latino Americano, Rome, Italy

  • 1975

    Fundamental Painting, Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

  • 1974

    Painting Exhibition, Scottish Arts Council Gallery, Edinburgh, UK

  • 1973

    7 Aus London, Kunsthalle Bern, Bern, Germany

    Une Exposition de peinture réunissant certain qui mettraient la peinture en question, 6 Place Vendôme, Paris, France ; Städtische Museum Abteiberg, Mönchengladbach, Germany ; ICC Internationaal Cultureel Centrum, Antwerpen, Belgium

    Prospect 73, Kunsthalle Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany

  • 1972

    Drawing, Modern Art Oxford, Oxford, UK

Selected images

Exhibitions