“Middle Passage by British artist Frank Bowling currently hangs in Room C214, a space that has long been home to Barnett Newman’s Voice of Fire and Mark Rothko’s No. 16. Both of these works had caused a stir across Canada when they were purchased, at a cost deemed expensive by the public. By contrast, Middle Passage went on display quietly and without controversy, to create an interesting dialogue with its monumental counterparts. The subject matter found within the grand 3.2 x 2.8-metre canvas is an assertive display of the vibrant, complex and often chaotic nature of Black culture within a colonialist society.” Francis Julien, Executive Assistant to the Chief Curator Kitty Scott.

Link to magazine article: https://www.gallery.ca/magazine