At 92, British artist Frank Bowling continues to defy age with his vibrant abstract works, recently showcased in his first solo exhibition in East Asia at Hauser & Wirth Hong Kong. The exhibition, titled “Frank Bowling. Like Water,” highlights his signature Poured Paintings, a series first developed in the 1970s, where he creates rich layers of color by pouring paint onto canvases from a tilted platform.

Born in 1934 in British Guiana—now Guyana, known as the “land of many waters”—Bowling’s early life was marked by hardship, including an abusive father and a strict Christian upbringing. Despite these challenges, he found refuge in art and moved to London in 1953. There, after a brief stint in the Royal Air Force, he pursued formal training at the Royal College of Art, gradually establishing himself in the British art scene.

Bowling’s career has unfolded against a backdrop of racial and artistic marginalization. In 2005, he became the first black artist elected to London’s Royal Academy of Arts, and in 2019, Tate Britain held a major retrospective covering six decades of his work. His knighthood, awarded in 2020 at age 86, further recognized his significant contributions to British art.

The artist’s move from figurative painting to abstraction in the 1960s reflected both his evolving creative vision and a form of resistance to prevailing expectations. During his time in New York amid the civil rights movement, Bowling engaged with broader cultural dialogues but insisted that his identity as a Caribbean or black artist not limit the interpretation of his work. Returning to London in 1975, he balanced family responsibilities with continuing artistic exploration, often traveling between the two cities.

Bowling’s art frequently incorporates references to his origins, including motifs drawn from South America and Africa, though this connection became explicit only later in his career. In 1989, a trip to Guyana with his youngest son prompted a profound artistic realization, resulting in works such as "Sacha Jason Guyana Dreams," now part of Tate Britain’s collection.

Currently working from his 19th-century Peacock Yard studio in London, Bowling directs the poured paint process from a wheelchair, collaborating closely with assistants as they manipulate streams of paint over vast canvases. He approaches his work with a combination of intuition and precision, describing his engagement as a response to chance effects in the paint rather than focused searching.

While Bowling will not attend the Hong Kong opening due to health concerns, he expressed satisfaction that his paintings are reaching new audiences. The exhibition runs from June 11 through August 29, 2026, at Hauser & Wirth’s gallery in Central, showcasing the ongoing vitality of a career that spans continents and decades.