By Sarah Jost

Artist Frank Bowling was born in the South American country of Guyana in 1936. In 1950, he moved to London where he attended the Royal College of Art and began a career as an artist. Now 76, Bowling has spent the past 46 years dividing his time between studios in London and New York.

Though Bowling’s work over the past six decades has ranged from Abstract Expressionism to Colour Field painting to Lyrical Abstraction to a combination of many styles made entirely his own, I was only recently introduced to Bowling’s ‘poured paintings’ of the 1970s at a current exhibition at the Tate Britain.

In his poured paintings, Bowling suspends enormous canvases such that he can control the pouring of paint layers across them. Utilising a variety of techniques, each poured piece evokes a range of emotions and contains the most beautifully vibrant colours and patterns.

Bessboro’Knights

Early Pour

Pandora’s Box

Rosebushtoo

Kaieteur

These images, of course, do little justice to the actual paintings. When seen in person, the texture and vivid colours are incredibly striking. Bowling’s works can currently be seen at the Tate Britain in London and the Metropolitan Museum and the Museum of Modern Art in New York.