Frank Bowling b. 1934

Frank Bowling – was born in British Guyana in 1934 and moved to England in 1953. He graduated from the Royal College of Art in 1962, alongside artists such as David Hockney and Allen Jones. He was awarded a silver medal in painting, allowing him to travel to South America and the Caribbean. His vibrant, boldly confrontational abstract canvases earned him a place as a Royal Academician in 2005

First arriving in London in the 1950s, Bowling was impressed by the city and was determined to gain a thorough education in painting. He became involved with the bohemian art scene, befriending Francis Bacon, who inspired his early work. In particular, the connection between sensation and consciousness endured as an influence and laid the foundation for his emotionally evocative style. During this time, Bowling also contacted artists working in New York, deciding to move there in 1967. From this point onwards, his painting veered increasingly into abstraction.

Bowling used huge canvases to explore the purity of awe-inspiring space, surface and colour in his ‘Map’ series, which was shown at the landmark 1971 Whitney Biennial, which focused on racial marginalisation. In each work, a thin line of spray paint was applied to indicate the outline of various continents.