Simon Morley is Assistant Professor at Dankook University, Korea. He is the author of Writing on the Wall: Word and Image in Modern Art (2003) and Seven Keys to Modern Art (2019).

The idea of the monochrome – an unmodulated plane of a single colour that entirely covers a given surface - is a strange proposition for a painting, or any work of art. And yet its possibilities have preoccupied and beguiled artists for well over a century. Simon Morley’s book brilliantly explores the labyrinthine complexities of this apparently simple form of abstract painting and in the process invites us to visit numerous types of art, made for wildly different purposes, in dozens of different places, and at many different times. - David Batchelor, artistAn indispensable introduction to the intriguing material, optical and philosophical challenges posed by the monochrome. Simon Morley writes with such tact and insight that anyone interested in the contemporary practice of painting, whether expert or novice, will find the book a delight. - Malcolm Bull, Professor of Art and the History of Ideas, University of Oxford

• 1 Introductions2 Setting3 Reception4 Colour5 Ground6 Spiritual7 Indefinable8 Nothingness9 Experiential10 Zen11 Material12 Format13 Sign14 Idea15 Allegorical16 Expanded Field17 East-Asia18 Contemporary19 ConclusionReferences