Alexi Worth interviews painter Frank Owen on the occasion of Owen's show Next at Nancy Hoffman Gallery, New York, on view through December 12, 2015.

Asked about beginning his pouring paintings and the influence of Pollock, Owen comments: "I was thinking a lot about Echo: Number 25, 1951; that painting was talismanic for me. In his last years Pollock was struggling to reintroduce imagery, and it wasn’t easy for him. In my own work, I began to feel a similar pressure. I needed to find a gateway out of just being a paint stylist. One idea that was helpful was the notion of a 'field.' An expanse where any number of elements can cohabit. The mere fact that they are assembled makes the painting. That was a kind of permission."