ART IN MENORCA spelling, draw from a wide range of references; overheard phrases, poetry, or pop songs, such as‘Hallelujah’ by Leonard Cohen, or ‘Self Control’ by Frank Ocean. In ‘Wish We’d Grown Up on tha Same Advice’ Quarles writes Ocean’s lyrics into a serene scene with figures that recline and embrace. Drawing is a key principle in Quarles’ work as she began the practice at the age of 12, attending life drawing classes after school. The Education Lab at the gallery provides a dedicated learning space which addresses Christina Quarles’ approach to the body and language. It has been created in collaboration with students from CREAE Espacio Creativo in Menorca, a non-formal arts school for drawing, painting and ceramics. Hauser & Wirth has Education Labs at its galleries in Menorca, Somerset, and Downtown Los Angeles, as well as Chillida Leku museum. Each is a collaboration with the local community. I would recommend you visit the lab to watch and listen to a video made by Christina, to get an insight into how she creates her paintings and drawings, before returning to view them once more in the gallery.
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JULY 2023
TONY PARSONS
PAINTS ON HOLIDAY
Quarles was born in Chicago in 1985 and raised by her mother in Los Angeles. In 2007, Quarles graduated from Hampshire College with dual BA degrees in Philosophy and Studio Art, then trained and worked in the field of graphic design. She became influenced by Marlene Dumas, Leonora Carrington, Jack Whitten, David Hockney, and Philip Guston. Seeking a vehicle for expressing the feelings and experiences, Quarleswent on to attend Yale University, where she received her MFA in 2016. She participated in an intensive artist residency at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture that same year. You can combine a trip to the Gallery with a tour of former Hospital on the Isla del Rey. The Foundation provides tours in English on Sunday and Thursday morning. Make a day of it with lunch at La Cantina or take a picnic to eat while you take in the surroundings. To visit, book the Yellow Catamaran shuttle service to the Isla del Rei from the Port of Mahon. The price is 10€ for adults and 3€ for under 18s. Children under 3 go free.
menorca.hauserwirth.com/en/book/shuttle-boat/1 All Images:©Christina Quarles Courtesy the artist, Hauser & Wirth, and Pilar Corrias, London.
Tony Parsons, an artist from the UK, visited Menorca in late May and treated us via the Everything Menorca Facebook page to a series of paintings he produced from the Island’s beaches. I spoke to Tony, who told me that he normally travels alone to places such as the Caribbean, the Canary Islands or Cairo, where he paints 2-3 pictures a day. He then leaves them to be sold through a local gallery. This time his wife booked a family villa holiday to Cala Galdana. It was the first time he had visited the island and he was amazed by the light and shadows on the coastal scenes, saying it was nicer than the Caribbean. He is planning to return to do more painting and perhaps arrange a group paining holiday. Tony sets up his easel on the beach and he says the children come up to talk to him first and watch him paint, he even lets them paint on his canvas. He says that parents then become interested and like to take photographs of the painting. Being on holiday he didn’t have time to make an arrangement with a local gallery and so he took his paintings back to Lewes. The pictures can be viewed on his website Artistonthehill.co.uk. Tony also does live paintings at events such as weddings. So, if you fancy something completely different for your special event then he would be delighted to come along, set up his easel and either create a painting of the day, a special moment or portrait painted sketches of your guests. He says “it is a fairly bespoke service, but it combines my history as a landscape painter and a caricaturist, with my love of feeding people into paintings as they happen”. Contact Email: artistonthehill@gmail.com
It’s Been 7 Hours, 2023 Acrylic on paper Photo: Fredrik Nilsen
ROQ U E TA M AGA ZI N E . N E T
