A psychedelic waterfall of orange, green and turquoise rivulets cascade down Frank Bowling’s canvas “Simon & Mathew” (1975). The lavenders and pinks of “Around Midnight Last Night” (1982) shimmer like oil slicks. In “Alighting” (2010), strips of red and blue bookend a creamy canvas that’s divided by a yellow line and two pale circles. By sampling work produced between 1972 and 2010, this engaging show demonstrates Bowling’s on-going commitment to abstract formalism.
Born in Guyana and trained at Britain’s Royal College of Art, Bowling began as a figurative painter and immersed himself in the London and New York art scenes during the 60s. By the early 70s, encouraged by mentor Clement Greenberg, he abandoned figuration in favor of pure color, texture and form, a direction he is still pursuing.
In “Corinna’s Adam” (1974) a smeary swath of burnt orange flares into magenta. “13th Hour” (1976) showcases yellow, green, and red drips spilling down a mauve ground. By the 80s, Bowling’s pours and drips give way to splotches, marbling and junkyard conglomerations. The swirling lilac hues in “Oddysseus’s Footfalls” (1982) evoke cosmic explosions, while the mold-green puddles harboring chunks of foam and egg carton in “Cybele’s Yellow Door to Fishes” (1984) embody decay as much as they express it.
With “Alighting” and other recent works, Bowling flirts with the primary palette and grid-like geometry of Mondrian, almost coming full circle to early Modernism. Four years ago, Bowling became the first black artist elected to the Royal Academy in London—a shockingly late first for the Academy. Taking Bowling’s work on its own terms, one can only find the painter’s race irrelevant.
Frank Bowling,
Paintings 1974-2010
at Spanierman Modern – September 14-October 16, 2010
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