Frank Bowling

- Blurb -

Born in British Guiana in 1936, Frank Bowling arrived in Britain in hislate teens, going on to study paiting at the the Royal College of Artin the same cohort as David Hockney and Derek Boshier. Since hestarted painting in the late 1950s, Bowling has pursued a relentlessexploration of the properties and possibilities of paint, experimentingwith 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 workcombines figuration, abstract elements, popular and autobiographicalreferences, and demonstrates his interest in social and political imagery.Accompanying what will be the first solo exhibition internationallyto address Bowling's entire oeuvre, this publication will explore anextraordinary career spanning over 60 years.Beginning with his early figurative work created in the early 1960s, itwill trace the development of Bowling's practice right up to his mostrecent work, illustrating the artist's interest in surface textures; thetension between geometry and organic forms; and between expansivefields of colour and the accrual of thickly built impasto - as well ashis use of unusual mediums, such as metallic pigments, fluorescentchalk and acrylic gels. Bowling's contribution to modern art and hiswide-reaching influence will be further illuminated by a combination ofinsightul art-historical texts and contemporary artistic voices. Featuringiconic series - such as the `Map Paintings', the `Poured Paintings' and`Thames Paintings' - alongside rarely seen works, this book is a feast ofcolour and texture that highlights the quality and breadth of Bowling'slong and distinguished career.