Christina Quarles Inaugurates LACMA's New Education Space
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| Christina Quarles, Now We're There (And We' Only Just Begun), 2023. LACMA, purchased with funds provided by Shari Behnke and Paul Britton. (c) Christina Quarles. Photo by Andrea Rosetti |
LACMA has acquired Christina Quarles' Now We're There (And We' Only Just Begun), a 2023 acrylic-on-canvas work of variable dimensions, roughly 11 by 32 ft. Quarles' explorations of twisted anatomy and discordant color channel a tradition running from Grünewald to Bacon. The piece's vertical stripes conceal trippy, handpainted notes: "I'M AFRAID this'll have to Do / YOU SAID TODAY."
Now We're There… goes on view in the Keck Education Center, one of the ground-level pavilions of the David Geffen Galleries. Quarles herself will offer art workshops for families from May 3 through fall 2026.
(The installation photos are from Pilar Corrias gallery, London, not the Geffen.)
Comments
The London gallerist says it's acrylic on canvas, comprised of six panels,
135 x 391 in., "Dimensions could become variable, as installation needs to be installed site specific."
I can't tell if there is relief to any of the pictures, with all the vertical lines. Nor can I reckon their relationships.
It's not saying hello to me.