Richard Allen, Untitled (c. late 1970s), charcoal and cellulose acetate on canvas; courtesy Offer Waterman & Co, 2008. (scroll down to read more about Allen)
Born in Massachusetts to a farming family, Allen (1933-1999) was a prolific painter across a breadth of modern art movements including minimalism and geometric abstraction during the second half of the twentieth century. The apparent simplicity of the monochromatic, grid-like formations in the two pieces featured in our Enlightenment Room – from a larger series by the artist of varyingly complex charcoal and cellulose acid-on-canvas images – belie the essential nature of the work; the subtle tonal shifts between black and grey, and the weaving, multi-planar geometric placements create an ambient aesthetic far grander than the component parts.
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