Christina Quarles's First UK Institutional Show at Hepworth Wakefield Explores Queer Identity Through Fragmented Bodies

The Hepworth Wakefield is hosting Christina Quarles's first institutional exhibition in the UK from 19 October to 19 January. This showcase features paintings in which fragmented human figures blend into abstract settings. Based in Los Angeles, Quarles portrays nudes with limbs extending and body parts morphing into various shapes, all against a backdrop of checkerboard and harlequin designs. Her perspective as a light-skinned, queer, cis-gendered woman deeply influences her examination of identity. Notable pieces include Carefully Taut (2019), Let Us In Too (Tha Light) (2018), and By Tha Skin of Our Tooth (2019). Additionally, Cut to Ribbons (2019) draws inspiration from David Hockney's swimming pool artworks. ArtReview reviewed the exhibition in December 2019.