About the Artist
Lorenzo Quinn
For more than twenty years, Italian artist Lorenzo Quinn‘s work has illuminated and challenged almost every major metropolis between Beijing and New York City. Indeed, his monumental sculptures—most often incorporating the unique dexterity and empathy of human hands—dare their viewers to reflect more profoundly upon the universal. For example, in order to highlight the timeless concerns about aggression and war, he has unveiled a series of sculptures that depict pairs of children’s hands, including A Dangerous Game in 2017 in Miami, Florida.
Quinn has further addressed the dire necessity of resource conservation, as exemplified by two sculptures installed in Venice: Support in May 2017 in the Grand Canal facing Ca’ Sagredo and Stop Playing! in October 2018 at the military fortress, Forte Marghera. These all-encompassing ideals achieved a culmination of sorts in May 2019 with Building Bridges, an installation of six pairs of monumental hands entitled Faith, Friendship, Help, Hope, Love, and Wisdom.
Would You Catch Me If I Fall
Gravity
Lorenzo Quinn was born in Rome to the Oscar Award-winning Mexican American actor Anthony Quinn and his wife, costume designer Iolanda Addolori. Quinn’s childhood was split between Italy and the United States. His father fostered his love for art as a child, and he followed that path into adulthood when he attended the American Academy of Fine Arts. It was there that he discovered his passion for sculpture.
Despite a brief stint as an actor in his twenties, Quinn decided to focus solely on sculpting. For Quinn, sculpturing is primarily an art of communication; he enjoys making his work’s meaning clear, and it can sometimes be months until his finished product is revealed. Quinn has a unique way of working, preferring to find inspiration by writing poetry. He begins with a poem whenever he makes his sculptures. By doing so, he creates a three-dimensional poem about, for example, a flower growing instead of a model of a flower.
Along this transcendence journey, the master of the monumental has also become the master of the miniature. For Quinn has translated his monumental works into breathtaking jewelry—not by merely scaling downsizes, but by brilliantly recrafting them in precious metals and stones. He has also created entirely original art that reimagines some of his earlier artistic motifs, including the Infinity collection.
This line of wearable masterpieces—spanning bracelets, earrings, necklaces, and rings—prominently features forever loops held together by two hands clasping in love. Still, further, Quinn has broken new ground with wearable series such as the Bespoke sculpted jewel collection, which features handcrafted pieces that are as unique as the fingerprint that lies at the heart of each piece.
Don’t miss our exclusive interview with this master artist in our Anniversary Issue!
