[no title] 1991

Editor: This is an untitled work by Alan Charlton. It looks to be a small square, perhaps a painting or print, and I'm really drawn to the stark contrast between the black square and the larger white field. What do you see in this piece? Curator: I see Charlton engaging with the very essence of painting. He uses humble materials – likely paint on canvas or paper – to question the commodity status of art. It challenges the traditional hierarchy separating craft from art, inviting us to consider the labor and material choices inherent in its production. Editor: So, the simplicity is deliberate, almost a commentary? Curator: Precisely. Its austere quality rejects elaborate displays of skill, instead emphasizing the physical properties of the medium and the social implications of artistic labor. Editor: That's a new way of seeing it. Thanks! Curator: My pleasure. I've learned something as well.