Frank Bowling RA:
The White Paintings
13 May – 2 July 2006
Reception for the artist: 13 May 2006 at 1pm
ArtSway
Station Road,
Sway, Hampshire
SO41 6BA,
United Kingdom
T: 44 (0) 1590 682260
F: 44 (0) 1590 681989
E: mail [at] artsway.org.uk
ArtSway presents a major exhibition of the White Paintings by Frank Bowling. Spanning over 40 years of working practice, the White Paintings represent a counterbalance to the large-scale vibrant abstract canvases of intense colour for which Bowling is best known throughout the world. They are both enigmatic and elegant, while retaining traces of Bowlings trademark colour sensibilities.
The White Paintings form an integral part of Bowlings oeuvre, proving his dedication and exhaustive pursuit of excellence in painting. Bowlings paintings are inspired by British traditions, as expressed by Gainsborough, Turner, Richard Wilson; and Old Masters of the Western tradition, such as Goya, Rembrandt and Titian. Arriving in New York City in the mid 1960s freed Bowling, as a painter, to pursue his own unique vision in the wake of Abstract Expressionists such as Newman, Pollock, Rothko and Still. His friendship with their champion Clement Greenberg also contributed to this artistic vicissitude.
Frank Bowling is considered one of the most influential artists to emerge from the post-war British art schools. He graduated from the Royal College of Art in 1962, alongside contemporaries such as David Hockney, RB Kitaj and Derek Boshier. Over a long and distinguished career Bowling has garnered a transatlantic reputation and has, since the mid-sixties, worked both in London and New York.
Born in British Guiana in 1936, Frank Bowling arrived in England in 1950 to complete his formal education. His work is in many permanent collections, including the Metropolitan Museum, New York; Museum of Modern Art, New York; National Gallery of Jamaica; The Menil Foundation, Houston, Texas; and Tate Gallery, London. Bowling has been awarded two Guggenheim Fellowships and two Pollock-Krasner Awards and was elected a Royal Academician in May 2005, the first time a black British artist has been elected in the Academys 200 year history.
-Ends-
The exhibition will be on view at ArtSway, Station Road, Sway, Hampshire SO41 6BA, United Kingdom
T: 44 (0) 1590 682260
F: 44 (0) 1590 681989
E: mail@artsway.org.uk
www.artsway.org.uk
For images, interviews & more information contact Adelina Jedrzejczak on 44 (0) 1590 682260 x16 or adelina@artsway.org.uk
Frank Bowling is represented in the UK by ROLLO Contemporary Art, London. A full colour catalogue Frank Bowling RA (ISBN: 0-9543930-6-6) with an essay by Matthew Collings accompanies the exhibition and is available from ArtSway and ROLLO Contemporary Art.
Editors Note: ArtSway is the contemporary visual arts centre in the New Forest, United Kingdom, presenting a changing exhibition programme of international significance in a unique rural environment, while facilitating the development of new works by artists and offering creative opportunities for audiences. Recent exhibitors include: Igloo, Alison Turnbull, Anne Hardy, Richard Billingham and Anna Best. ArtSways most recent international project was New Forest Pavilion during the 51st Venice Biennale (2005).
ArtSway is open Tuesday – Sunday 11am – 5pm. Admission is free.
Exhibition Related events:
Free Coach to ArtSway from London: Join the artist for the opening reception on Saturday, 13 May 2006. A free coach will leave central London at 10.30am and return for the early evening. Booking your place is essential, please contact Adelina on 44 (0) 1590 682260 x16 or adelina@artsway.org.uk
In Conversation: Frank Bowling & Richard Cork:
Saturday 24 June 2006 at 2pm
A unique opportunity to join artist Frank Bowling as he discusses his long and successful career with highly respected art critic, writer and broadcaster Richard Cork. Please book to ensure a place. FREE
Gallery Talk: Abstraction, Expressionism and the Paintings of Frank Bowling RA:
Monday 22 May 2006, 7.30pm
Jim Hunter, Director of the School of Art, The Arts Institute of Bournemouth, will outline the relationship between Frank Bowlings work and the history of Abstraction and Expressionism. Please book to ensure a place. FREE
