The Elliott Room: Charter

Robert Rymans The Elliott Room: Charter from 1985, part of the Charter Series created between 1985 and 1987, is an oil painting on anodized aluminum with six hexagonal round-faced steel bolts that exemplifies the Minimalist painters radical approach to the material conditions of painting, in which the physical support, the method of attachment, and the visible hardware are treated as integral elements of the work rather than concealed accessories. The Charter Series, which Ryman developed over several years and exhibited at the Elliott Gallery in New York, represents his most sustained investigation of the relationship between the painted surface and its support, and the individual panels in the series explore different combinations of painting materials, support materials, and attachment hardware. The oil paint on anodized aluminum creates a surface in which the white paint, applied in Rymans characteristic manner, interacts with the reflective aluminum support in a way that makes the relationship between paint and support visible as the primary content of the work. The six hexagonal round-faced steel bolts, which attach the panel directly to the wall without a frame or any other form of concealment, make the physical relationship between the painting and the wall into a visible element of the composition, extending Rymans investigation from the surface of the painting to the wall on which it hangs and the space in which it is viewed. The year 1985 and the series designation 1985/87 indicate that this work evolved over a period of two years, reflecting Rymans practice of extending the process of painting over time rather than completing it in a single session.

Rymans Charter Series is a significant contribution to the history of Minimalist painting, and The Elliott Room: Charter demonstrates his radical approach to the material conditions of painting. The series influenced the development of installation-based painting and the broader tradition of art that treats the physical support as an integral element of the work.

An oil painting on anodized aluminum with six visible hexagonal steel bolts by Ryman from the 1985/87 Charter Series, making the physical relationship between paint, aluminum support, and wall attachment the primary content of the work in a radical Minimalist investigation of painting's material conditions.