Lorenzo Quinn: ‘All people are one human race for me’

Hands are a universal language

Lorenzo Quinn was born in 1966 in Rome in the family of actor Anthony Quinn. Lorenzo seemed destined to follow in his father's footsteps. He also took up an acting career. But in the early 2000s, he decided to abandon the world of cinema for the sake of his true vocation — art. Since then, his name has become associated with majestic sculptures, striking in their shapes and symbolism.

His works adorn cities all over the world, from London to Singapore. The focus of Quinn's work is on the human hand as a symbol of connection, strength and creation. Sculptures such as the Tree of Life in Birmingham or the Force of Nature presented in Monaco and Qatar demonstrate the master's ability to convey powerful emotions and philosophical reflections through form. Each of his works is not just an object, but also a message embodied in stone or metal.

“My works are exhibited in different parts of our world. It's important to me that my creations show respect for all cultures. I use my hands a lot because it's a universal language. When you look at a sculpture of hands, you can't tell which race they belong to. In the painting it can be distinguished, because it is seen by the colour, but in the sculpture it does not. Thus, it unites us," said Lorenzo Quinn.

The creator of emotions

So, who is Lorenzo Quinn? The master himself drew attention to a banner near the gallery advertising the exhibition. There, he is represented as a sculptor and artist of emotions. It is as a creator of emotions that Lorenzo sees himself.

“In my works I talk about different topics: love, family, life, death. Something that is common to all people on the planet. This is especially noticeable in my large-scale works that are exhibited in public spaces. I dedicate all my works to the topic of unity. Because all people on the planet share common emotions," said the sculptor.

In an interview with LifeGate radio, Lorenzo Quinn noted that he had never went through the art world, had never been a part of this world. And his most significant public works appeared and were sold not thanks to art dealers and curators, but thanks to people whose hearts were touched by his sculptures.

“The objects of art that are exhibited in public spaces are for everyone, not just for people who go to museums and galleries. It is important that my work is understandable to everyone in this space. And gestures are understandable to everyone: when you try to say that you are hungry or give a sign for help, or when you meet another person and shake hands. The sign language is clear without translation," explained Lorenzo Quinn.

But Lorenzo Quinn is not just an artist. He actively supports charity projects by designing unique sculptures for charity auctions and events. For example, his sculpture Friendship Fish raised funds for environmental protection, and the Hope, donated to the Madrid Museum of the Blind, became a symbol of faith in a better future.

Turning words into images

As for the exhibition in Kazan, it has its own history. The thing is that none of the exhibits presented are brought from abroad. The owner of ES Gallery, Elina Safarova, found collectors who had works by Lorenzo Quinn. And it was these sculptures that formed the exhibition.

“I have friends in Kazan who have been familiar with the work of Lorenzo Quinn for quite a long time and collect his works. The three works that are on display in Kazan are provided by them. Because now it is difficult with delivery, transportation and customs issues. It is possible, but the time period is very long. Therefore, we decided to take a different path and arrange the exhibition so that we could present Lorenzo in Kazan. Of course, it is difficult to reflect the full scale of his works," Elina Safarova commented to Realnoe Vremya.

The artist, like the other guests of the opening, was supposed to see the exhibition for the first time. In fact, the contents of the exhibition were a surprise to him. Lorenzo said that the situation with the organisation of the exhibition in Kazan reminded him of a funny incident that happened at his exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in Seoul, where the sculptor sent 25 of his works. He was confirmed that the containers had arrived safely in South Korea. Lorenzo flew to Seoul, where he was told two pieces of news — a good one and a bad one. The good news was that the exhibition was opened by the minister of culture of South Korea. The bad news was that the objects were still lying at customs.

“Before I start sculpting, I first write a book with poems dedicated to this sculpture. As a result, empty pedestals and plaques with poems were presented in Seoul. When the minister cut the ribbon and we went inside, there was silence. I was probably more surprised than anyone else. And those around me most likely thought that I was a conceptual sculptor. They had the idea that visitors to the exhibition should read the poems and imagine what these sculptures would look like. Willing or not, so it happened that all the guests had to become sculptors, because they had to turn on their imagination and turn words from poems into images," said Lorenzo Quinn.

Sculpture in “one of the most significant places in the history of mankind”

Unlike the exhibition in Seoul, there were exhibits in Kazan. Photographs of the most significant objects exhibited in public spaces around the world were also presented. Among them, of course, is the world-famous work Support, which was installed in Venice in 2017. These “hands” called for people to pay attention to the problem of climate change, to that ocean levels are rising all over the planet. In this regard, Venice is particularly vulnerable, because it can be under water. The “hands” were created from recycled material.

“The installation of the sculpture was very difficult, because the municipal authorities said that Venice should not be touched. But we were able to do it because the mayor liked my work. He had to “fight” with the regional or federal minister of culture. And everything worked out. A picture of this sculpture was widely distributed on the Internet, there were more than 2.5 billion reposts. It was planned that these “hands” would stand for six months, but in the end they were extended to a year. This sculpture broke the record. It had 50,000 signatories to the complaint to return the sculpture when it was removed, the artist explained.

There was another sculpture by Lorenzo Quinn in Venice — Building Bridges. These are six pairs of hands that symbolise love, faith, friendship, wisdom and other important aspects of humanity.

Also at the exhibition, there was a photo of the sculpture Together, made of stainless steel mesh. Lorenzo created it right after covid. The essence of the work is to encourage people to be together again. The sculpture was installed in Egypt at the foot of the pyramids.

“This is the first time in 4,500 years that modern art has been allowed to be near the pyramid. It was an important event for me because it is a unique case, and besides, I have never been to Egypt before. And here is an invitation to the country, and permission to install my work in one of the most significant places in the history of mankind," Lorenzo Quinn shared.

Another work is a hand that holds a car. She has a funny creation story. This car once belonged to Lorenzo. He decided to sell it, but its price was very low. Then the artist thought that if the car was transformed into an object of art, then its price would soar. Lorenzo said that the essence of this work was that dreams come true.

When God carries a man in his arms

In addition to photographs of works in public spaces, the exhibition featured three physical sculptures from private collections. One of them is a suspended arm that moves continuously and draws lines on the sand with a finger. This is a miniature copy of a large sculpture.

Another large work, the Hand of God, has been exhibited in Shanghai, London, Gloucestershire, Andorra and St. Petersburg. A smaller copy of it is presented at the ES Gallery in Kazan. The Hand of God is one of the first works by Lorenzo Quinn. It is inspired by the poem “Footprints in the Sand”. It tells about the dream of a man who sees his life reflected in the footprints of his feet in the sand. At the same time, he sees not only his own footprints, but also the footprints of God. When bad streaks happened in a person's life, the second traces disappeared. And the man asked, why so? After all, if you follow God, he must always be there. And God answered him that he had never abandoned him, and in the darkest moments of life, only the traces of one person were visible, because at that time God was carrying him in his arms.

“The poem is so strong that even now I get goosebumps. I wanted to reflect this in the sculpture. This work is about the people who support us at the moments when we need help the most," Lorenzo Quinn added.

There is another curious exhibit that does not belong to the works of the Italian sculptor. It's his thumbprint. It was made by the ES Gallery team to complement the exhibition.

“Increasing and spreading love in the hearts of people”

Lorenzo Quinn expressed a desire to bring even more works to Kazan and hold a larger exhibition in the future. In general, even this exhibition is nonsense in the current situation. Many cultural figures from the EU, the US, Scandinavian countries or the UK, even if they wanted to come to Russia with their projects, prefer not to do so. The exceptions can be counted on the fingers of one hand. From the latest — this is the visit of French director Gaspard Noe to Moscow and now Italian sculptor Lorenzo Quinn. The artist told a journalist of Realnoe Vremya that he did not think about the consequences.

“All people are one human race for me. As representatives of the field of art, we work with the inner world of a person to increase and spread love in the hearts of people. What happens next will happen next. I live by that principle," Lorenzo Quinn said.

The artist stressed that his art is designed to unite people, to help people “feel and realise deeply” this unity.

“If you look at the Earth from the moon, you can't see any barriers and people. The Earth is tiny. Therefore, I try to look at everything from different angles and see at different points in time with different shades. If everything that seems important to us today is put in comparison with climate change on the planet Earth or with a meteorite that can fly from space, then we are all 'screwed'. After all, the meteorite doesn't care what country you're from," Lorenzo Quinn told Realnoe Vremya.

Ekaterina Petrova — literary reviewer of Realnoe Vremya online newsppaer, author of Poppy Seed Muffins (Булочки с маком) telegram channel, and founder of the first online subscription book club Makulatura.