Frank Bowling: Map Paintings will highlight the DMA’s acquisition of its first painting by the seminal artist Frank Bowling, Marcia H Travels (1970), in an installation with four additional works from private collections presenting the entire selection of work from the artist’s influential “Map Paintings” series. Bowling, the Guyanese-born British painter, is widely celebrated for his contributions to the field of abstraction and his advocacy of black artists internationally, created a number of paintings in the 1970s characterized by his use of world maps as organizational tools to explore color as its own subject—a recurring theme in his work. Frank Bowling: Map Paintings will explore the development of the series and Bowling’s influences as he forged his artistic path. The exhibition also marks the first time in nearly 45 years that these works from the “Map Paintings” series will be on view since its debut at the Whitney Museum of American Art in 1971.
Admission is FREE
Frank Bowling: Map Paintings is organized by the Dallas Museum of Art. The presentation is made possible by TWO X TWO for AIDS and Art, an annual fundraising event that jointly benefits amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research and the Dallas Museum of Art, and by the Contemporary Art Initiative. Additional support provided by the Schweitzer Family Foundation.
Images: Frank Bowling, Marcia H Travels, 1970, acrylic on canvas, courtesy of Frank Bowling and Hales Gallery, copyright of Frank Bowling, photograph by Charles Robinson; Frank Bowling, Africa to Australia, 1971, acrylic on canvas, Courtesy of Frank Bowling and Hales Gallery, copyright of Frank Bowling, photograph by Charles Robinson; Frank Bowling, image by Gavin Freeborn ©gavinfreeborn, Frank Bowling, Polish Rebecca, 1971, acrylic on canvas, Courtesy of Frank Bowling and Hales Gallery © Frank Bowling