Nº 52: Marc Prats
The London-based painter recs his favorite room in the Tate Britain, a dingy yet charing pub in Kentish Town and a comedic novel you'll never forget.
We’re back with painter Marc Prats. Read on to find out what he’s into, and if you’re new here, hit subscribe for secret recommendations every Monday.
Marc Prats is a London-based artist from Barcelona. Although he misses his hometown’s warm weather, the fantastic food, the sweet whiff of chilled vermouth that accompanies passers-by as they bustle through the many terraces sprawled along the sinuous streets of the… he would not change London-life for anything.
☞ ‘A CONFEDERACY OF DUNCES’ BY KENNEDY TOOLE: It is most likely not the best book you will ever read, but it will take you on a ride that you will never forget. This comedic novel follows the life of Ignatious Jaques Reilly, an overweight, cynical and unemployed thirty year old man who lives with his mother. He loathes the world around him so much that he refuses to get out of the house, but when his mother crashes her car into a building causing thousands of dollars’ worth of damages, she forces Ignatious to get a job and help pay off her debts. As you follow the unravelling of his secluded life, you get to meet a horde of impish, often self-involved and always histrionic characters that make you question the meaning of life itself.
☞ HIDDEN (AND_NOT_SO_HIDDEN) GEMS IN LONDON: The first gem is the Painted Hall at Greenwich’s Old Royal Naval College and it is bound to take your breath away. Designed by Sir James Thornhill in the 18 th century, this gigantic room is painted from floor to ceiling with all sorts of long-forgotten rulers and mythological figures. The second gem is the ‘Rothko Room’ at Tate Britain. The monumental sombre canvases by the American abstract expressionist painter displayed in this room, are disturbing and liberating in equal measure. Disturbing because they force you to face your own insecurities, and liberating because they help you achieve precisely that. All I can say, is that experiencing this room is probably the closest I have been to a religious experience. I recommend spending at least 30 minutes in there, simply letting the dim lighting, the dusty air and the deep reds and purples that Rothko conjured wash over you.
☞ THE MATRIX (1999): Whether you are a fan of cyber sci-fi or not, if you haven’t watched The Matrix (1999), drop everything you are doing at go watch it. This movie might be over two decades old but it revolutionized cinema to an extent that in many ways, it is still ground-breaking and relevant today. The Matrix is a computer-generated world designed by machines to keep human beings under their control. Humans are kept sedated, living a virtual life, so that machines can extract and live off their energy. Neo is awakened from this state by Morpheus, a survivor in the last colony of free humans, who tells Neo that he has the power to save humanity once and for all.
☞ THE PINEAPPLE: A dingy but charming pub in Kentish Town that dates back to the mid 19th century, with great service and even better drinks. In winter, they serve mulled wine and when the weather is good they open the conservatory around the back so people can have a drink looking up at the sky.
☞ ARTISTS I HAVE BEEN LOOKING AT:
♪ LISTENING TO:
☠︎ HATES: (or strongly despises): Arrogance; hypocrisy; capers (they are the devil’s fruit)