Uploaded January 2020 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Christina Quarles makes expressive, gestural works that reference the history and techniques of painting, but also smartly test its limits. Her dynamic compositions often feature feminine tropes that reference domestic space—fabrics, patterns—alongside polymorphous and ambiguous figures arranged in contorted positions. Playing with the identity of the figure to expand the potential for representation in her work, Quarles explores the genre of figurative art as it has been captured in The Foundation of the Museum: MOCA’s Collection by artist Paul Mpagi Sepuya.
Christina Quarles makes expressive, gestural works that reference the history and techniques of painting, but also smartly test its limits. Her dynamic compositions often feature feminine tropes that reference domestic space—fabrics, patterns—alongside polymorphous and ambiguous figures arranged in contorted positions. Playing with the identity of the figure to expand the potential for representation in her work, Quarles explores the genre of figurative art as it has been captured in The Foundation of the Museum: MOCA’s Collection by artist Paul Mpagi Sepuya.
