This untitled painting was made for Richard Allen’s solo exhibition at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London in the spring of 1975. Having previously participated in two exhibitions organised by the Systems Group Allen remained interested in generating the motifs in his painting using systematic rules. Paintings for this show were worked up from systematic drawings in which Allen would randomly generate the direction of his zig-zagging lines and grids. These ‘paintings’ were in fact made with a self-devised medium, comprising of ground up charcoal, suspended in a cellulose acetate solution. When applied to the canvas with a brush this medium would dry to a mattified, powdery texture, more akin to drawing than painting. The unique nature of the surface gives Allen’s ‘Charcoal Paintings’ an unusual feeling of depth as the charcoal absorbs rather than reflects the light.

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