Born in British Guiana in 1936, Frank Bowling arrived in Britain in his
late teens, going on to study paiting at the the Royal College of Art
in the same cohort as David Hockney and Derek Boshier. Since he
started painting in the late 1950s, Bowling has pursued a relentless
exploration of the properties and possibilities of paint, experimenting
with stitching, staining, pouring and dripping. Often ambitious in scale,
and usually described in terms of its colourful and luminous quality,
and the energetic application or accrual of paint, Bowling's work
combines figuration, abstract elements, popular and autobiographical
references, and demonstrates his interest in social and political imagery.
Accompanying what will be the first solo exhibition internationally
to address Bowling's entire oeuvre, this publication will explore an
extraordinary career spanning over 60 years.
Beginning with his early figurative work created in the early 1960s, it
will trace the development of Bowling's practice right up to his most
recent work, illustrating the artist's interest in surface textures; the
tension between geometry and organic forms; and between expansive
fields of colour and the accrual of thickly built impasto - as well as
his use of unusual mediums, such as metallic pigments, fluorescent
chalk and acrylic gels. Bowling's contribution to modern art and his
wide-reaching influence will be further illuminated by a combination of
insightul art-historical texts and contemporary artistic voices. Featuring
iconic series - such as the `Map Paintings', the `Poured Paintings' and
`Thames Paintings' - alongside rarely seen works, this book is a feast of
colour and texture that highlights the quality and breadth of Bowling's
long and distinguished career.