EXHIBITION
Feeling Color: Aubrey Williams and Frank Bowling, organized by the Modern and Curator María Elena Ortiz, celebrates the work of these two artists and their contributions to the story of abstract painting in the late twentieth century. Williams (1926–90) and Bowling (b. 1934) migrated from British Guiana (now Guyana) in South America to European and American cities in the 1950s, escaping social upheavals in their native country. Expanding on the international legacies of abstraction that are among the Modern’s central concerns, these artists’ works demonstrate that, even in moments of despair, art creates a space for refuge, reckoning, and imagination. This exhibition puts both artists in conversation, illustrating Williams’s powerful commitment to investigating abstract forms and Bowling’s painterly and experimental approach. Together their works provide an opportunity to reflect on the power of art and abstraction in the twentieth century. The exhibition will be accompanied by a publication, including a curatorial essay by Ortiz and color plate illustrations.
Aubrey Williams, Maya Dynasty, 1980. Oil on canvas, 91 x 182 cm.
PLATFORM
Continuing the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth’s commitment to collecting and exhibiting international art from the 1940s to today, the Museum is excited to launch Platform—a new exhibition initiative showing how artists and art histories from across the globe are connected. Illustrating a robust perspective on modern and contemporary art, Platform encompasses a series of artists whose works expand on the Modern’s international mission. Feeling Color: Aubrey Williams and Frank Bowling is the inaugural presentation, Platform 1, which showcases two integral artists within the canon of twentieth-century abstraction. The Platform series aims to create dynamic dialogues that embody the universal qualities and intersectionality of art, spanning geographic and national boundaries.
Aubrey Williams, Realm of the Sun, 1982. Oil on canvas, 132 x 163 cm.
Frank Bowling, Think Tree, 2015, Acrylic on canvas, 73 × 35 × 1 3/8 in.
Feeling Color presents works from Williams’s expansive series Shostakovich, 1980–81, and The Olmec-Maya and Now, 1982–88, as well as other works on canvas and paper. In dialogue with Williams’s works are several paintings from Bowling’s influential Map series, 1967–71, and his later poured paintings, which allude to sociopolitical concerns while prioritizing experimentation with the formal and material qualities of paint.
These works reflect the artists’ histories by combining modernist abstraction with, in Bowling’s case, imagery derived from African diasporic dwellings and, in Williams’s case, the Indigenous cultures of South America, each pointing to the complexity of their postcolonial heritage. These are works that embrace color, movement, experimentation, and abstraction to convey human emotion.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Aubrey Williams, an artistic prodigy from youth, travelled to the UK from Guyana in 1952. He toured Britain and Europe extensively in order to closely investigate art and artists he had long admired. Williams’s excitement for the Abstract Expressionist movement peaked at seeing work by artists such as Arshile Gorky, Franz Kline, Wifredo Lam, and Jackson Pollock. On settling in London, Williams enrolled at St Martin’s School of Art prior to exhibiting and gaining notoriety at the renowned Archer and New Vision Centre galleries in London, later working from studios he established in Jamaica and Florida. Williams was a founding member of the influential Caribbean Artists Movement and was awarded the Commonwealth Prize for Painting in 1965. An important figure in British postwar painting, with works held in major global institutions and collections, Williams demonstrates a unique approach to abstraction, frequently incorporating elements of figuration. His visionary, forward thinking regarding global ecology and technological progression remains of utmost relevance today.
Frank Bowling, For Zephyr, 1973, Acrylic and spray paint on canvas, 67 1/8 × 67 1/8 in.
Frank Bowling, OBE, RA, was born in Guyana (then British Guiana) and migrated to London in 1953 to complete his education in the hope of becoming a writer. Graduating from the Royal College of Art with the silver medal for painting in 1962, by the mid 1960s, the artist maintained studios in London and New York City, developing his career and becoming friends with important figures such as art critic Clement Greenberg and artists including Jack Whitten, Mel Edwards, and Al Loving.
Bowling was elected to Britain’s Royal Academy in 2005, received an OBE in 2008, and was knighted in 2020. He is a pivotal figure in British abstract painting, contributing to the canon for over six decades and continuing to work in his studio on a daily basis. His work has been exhibited widely and is part of prestigious collections around the world.
PROGRAMS
Exhibition Film
The Mark of the Hand: Aubrey Williams
March 27, 6 pm
Exhibition Lecture
Dr. Eddie Chambers
Professor of Art History, African Diaspora Art, University of Texas at Austin
The Delayed Presence of Bowling, Williams, et al.
April 11, 6 pm
Exhibition Gallery Performances
April 4, TCU Graduate Student Ensemble, 6 pm
Additional dates to be announced.
LOCATION
Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth
3200 Darnell Street
Fort Worth, Texas 76107
Telephone 817.738.9215
Toll-Free 1.866.824.5566
www.themodern.org
Museum Gallery Hours
Tue-Sun 10 am-5 pm
Fri 10 am-8 pm
General Admission Prices (includes special exhibition)
$16: General (age 18 and above)
$12: Seniors (age 60+), Active/Retired Military Personnel and First Responders with ID
$10: Students with ID
Free: Under 18 years old
The Museum offers half-price tickets on Sundays and free admission on Fridays.
The Museum is closed Mondays and holidays, including New Year's Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, and Christmas.
ABOUT THE MODERN
The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth is a leader in collecting, showing, and interpreting art from the 1940s to the present. Situated in the heart of the Cultural District, the creative center of the city, the Modern has been housed since 2002 in an elegant concrete, glass, and steel building designed by the renowned Japanese architect Tadao Ando. In addition to 53,000 square feet of soaring, light-filled gallery space and landscaped grounds with outdoor sculptures, the museum features a reflecting pond, theater, education center, gift shop, and café, creating a thriving hub for our community and beyond.
Founded in 1892, the Modern is the oldest museum in Texas; however, our mission has changed over the years. Today, we strive to connect audiences of all ages and backgrounds with the most compelling art and ideas of our time. Showcasing the work of historically significant, mid-career, and emerging artists, the Modern is known for its evolving collection, which is international in scope. The Museum’s holdings include influential artists from Pablo Picasso, Philip Guston, Anselm Kiefer, Martin Puryear, and Agnes Martin to Mark Bradford, Teresita Fernández, Njideka Akunyili Crosby, and Kehinde Wiley. We have a long history of close relationships with the living artists we show and collect, many of whom visit the museum regularly to give talks and lead workshops.
The Modern is a center of lifelong learning and exchange. Our programs include tours, lectures by leading figures in the art world, youth and adult classes, art camps, workshops, and a range of small-group studio and gallery programs led by the Museum's educators, docents, and community artists. We also present critically acclaimed first-run films and partner with other local arts organizations to offer music, dance, and theater.
CONTACT:
Kendal Smith Lake
Director of Communications
817.840.2167
kendal@themodern.org
