Alan Charlton is one of the preeminent British artists of the post-war period. Since graduating from the Royal Academy of Art in 1972, he has painted exclusively monochrome paintings in variations of the colour grey. The formal principles of his work appear self-evident: canvases painted in grey, executed without painterly gesture or visible brushstroke, the formats divisible in height, width and depth by a factor of 4.5. Even the gaps in multi-part works or the blank spaces in the so-called Channel Paintings correspond to this basic measurement. Each painting is planned precisely by Charlton, who executes every step of its production himself. He orders the wood slats for the stretcher frames, cut to size, joins them together, attaches the canvas, paints it grey, makes a suitable transport box and packs up the work. His by now legendary selfdescription is succinct: «I am an artist who makes grey paintings.»