The Wick List

Viewing Frank Bowling and Sculpture

The Wick Culture - Frank Bowling, Bulbul, 1988, Detail.

Above Frank Bowling, Bulbul, 1988, Detail.

The Wick Culture - Frank Bowling, Angharad's Gift Patagonia, 1991 and Sasha's Green Bag, 1988.

Above Frank Bowling, Angharad’s Gift Patagonia, 1991 and Sasha’s Green Bag, 1988.

The Wick Culture - Frank Bowling, Hrund, 1988.

Above Frank Bowling, Hrund, 1988.

The Wick Culture - Frank Bowling, King Crabbé, 1988.

Above Frank Bowling, King Crabbé, 1988.

The Wick Culture - Frank Bowling, Mummybelli (New York), 2019, Detail 1.

Above Frank Bowling, Mummybelli (New York), 2019, Detail 1.

The Wick Culture - Frank Bowling, Pendulum, 2012.

Above Frank Bowling, Pendulum, 2012.

The Wick Culture - Frank Bowling, Rachel VI, 1991.

Above Frank Bowling, Rachel VI, 1991.

The Wick Culture - Frank Bowling, Sasha's Green Bag, 1988, and Hrund, 1991.

Above Frank Bowling, Sasha’s Green Bag, 1988, and Hrund, 1991.

The Wick Culture - Frank Bowling, Sentinel, 1976.

Above Frank Bowling, Sentinel, 1976.

The Wick Culture - Frank Bowling, The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, 1988, Detail.

Above Frank Bowling, The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, 1988, Detail.

The Wick Culture - Frank Bowling, What else can you put in a Judd box, 2022.

Above Frank Bowling, What else can you put in a Judd box, 2022.

The Wick Culture - Frank Bowling, Mummybelli (New York), 2019.

Above Frank Bowling, Mummybelli (New York), 2019.

Above Frank Bowling, Bulbul, 1988, Detail.

Above Frank Bowling, Angharad’s Gift Patagonia, 1991 and Sasha’s Green Bag, 1988.

Above Frank Bowling, Hrund, 1988.

Above Frank Bowling, King Crabbé, 1988.

Above Frank Bowling, Mummybelli (New York), 2019, Detail 1.

Above Frank Bowling, Pendulum, 2012.

Above Frank Bowling, Rachel VI, 1991.

Above Frank Bowling, Sasha’s Green Bag, 1988, and Hrund, 1991.

Above Frank Bowling, Sentinel, 1976.

Above Frank Bowling, The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, 1988, Detail.

Above Frank Bowling, What else can you put in a Judd box, 2022.

Above Frank Bowling, Mummybelli (New York), 2019.

Frank Bowling and Sculpture
The Stephen Lawrence Gallery, University of Greenwich, London

15 July — 3 September 2022
http://www.greenwichunigalleries.co.uk/frank-bowling-and-sculpture/

Frank Bowling is best known for his abstract paintings that fuse personal memories and a sensual use of colour. Think his iconic ‘map paintings’ produced from the mid 1960s and his arresting ‘pour paintings’ made by pouring paint down an inclined surface. But he has also produced sculpture and sculptural paintings. ‘Painting has to release certain sculptural aspects, but it also has to retain aspects of the sculptural to hold its own on the wall, in order for it to be a thing,’ the artist once said.

This exhibition is the first to focus on Bowling’s sculptures and the sculptural aspects of his paintings. Curated by Sam Cornish, it brings together sculptures from the late 80s and early 90s, many of which have never been seen before, alongside paintings, archival and audio-visual material that reveal the artist’s keen interest in materiality.

Highlights include his welded steel forms, notably King Crabbé and Buibul, both from 1988, and Mummybelli (2019), a canvas with a dense, object-encrusted surface.

It’s gratifying that this previously unexamined side of Bowling’s career is finally getting the recognition it deserves.