I can't remember when, where, or how I first came across the work of Frank Bowling, but what a treat it is. The Guyanese-born, British painter (b. 1936) has been turning out his ethereal abstract paintings for over forty years. Shown above are, "Sheep's Head (1960)," "Fishes, Wishes, and Uncle Jack (1989)" and, "Flambouria's Choice (1983)," respectively. Bowling is represented by Rollo Contemporary Art in London and in 2005 was elected the first Black member of England's 200 year-old Royal Academy of Art.
"If I hadn't gone to New York [in the 60s]," Bowling says in Rose Jones' documentary on the painter, "I wouldn't have been able to develop as an artist." The consensus in England at the time was that there was "no room" for an "unusual, Black artist." In New York, "there were oodles of artists who also happened to be Black and who were having their struggles with the scene there." Bowling felt an immediate kinship with this group, and also discovered that the "sharpness" of the critical American art world provided-- and continues to provide-- "sustaining energy."
Images culled from ArtNet, where you can view much more of Bowling's work, as well as the work of the other artists in Rollo Contemporary's portfolio.
