Frank Bowling’s Americas on at MFA Boston through April 9

Frank Bowling, ‘Middle Passage,’ 1970. Synthetic polymer paint, silkscreen ink, spray paint, wax crayon and graphite on canvas. Menil Collection, Houston. Image by Adam Neese. © Frank Bowling. All rights reserved, DACS, London & ARS, New York 2022.
Frank Bowling, ‘Middle Passage,’ 1970. Synthetic polymer paint, silkscreen ink, spray paint, wax crayon and graphite on canvas. Menil Collection, Houston. Image by Adam Neese. © Frank Bowling. All rights reserved, DACS, London & ARS, New York 2022.
Frank Bowling, ‘Middle Passage,’ 1970. Synthetic polymer paint, silkscreen ink, spray paint, wax crayon and graphite on canvas. Menil Collection, Houston. Image by Adam Neese. © Frank Bowling. All rights reserved, DACS, London & ARS, New York 2022.

BOSTON — In 1966, driven by the desire to expand the possibilities of painting, Frank Bowling (b. 1934-) ventured to New York City. It was his second move across the Atlantic — he had previously left British Guiana, his birthplace, for London in 1953. During the next decade, when New York was his primary residence, Bowling charted a journey of profound artistic discovery and self-determination. Now on view at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA), Frank Bowling’s Americas delves for the first time into this pivotal early chapter of the boundary-crossing artist’s career. The exhibition brings together more than 30 of Bowling’s powerful paintings in the country of their making — including monumental, color-soaked canvases and rarely seen examples on loan from private collections. Following its presentation at the MFA through April 9, Frank Bowling’s Americas will travel to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA), where it will be on view from May 13 through September 10.

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