Team Spirit

Marc Quinn, born in 1964, is recognised as one of the leading artists of his generation. His practice – which encompasses sculpture, painting, and drawing – is not easily categorised. His work connects frequently and meaningfully with art history, from old masters to classical antiquity, whilst also drawing on science and the natural world. At its centre is an exploration of the multifaceted experience of being human. 

Quinn came to prominence in 1991 with his sculpture Self (1991), a cast of his head made from ten pints of his own frozen blood. His early explorations of the self soon expanded to reflect on the experiences of others, often challenging society’s normative perceptions of people. In this period, he exhibited critically acclaimed sculptures of Alison Lapper on the Fourth Plinth in London’s Trafalgar Square and at the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Paralympic Games and a solid gold sculpture of Kate Moss at the British Museum, as the 2008 financial crash was happening, raising questions about how society attributes value.

Alongside social issues, Quinn’s art has continually grappled with the complex relationship between people and their environments: urban, virtual, and, in particular, natural. Garden (2000), first shown at Fondazione Prada, is a vast installation described as “a garden of Eden made from human desire.” In 2001, he collaborated with Nobel Prize-winning scientist Sir John Sulston on the world’s first ‘DNA portrait’ and DNA Garden (2001), more explorations of us and our environment. His regularly exhibited sculptures of flowers, orchids, bonsai trees, and plants have elaborated on the theme from multiple angles and most recently the NATURENOW series (2023) does so through a virtual lens. Quinn’s work is included in collections around the world, including London’s Tate, National Portrait Gallery, and Science Museum; the Metropolitan Museum and Guggenheim, New York; SFMOMA, San Francisco; Arario Museum, Seoul; Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; and the Centre Pompidou, Paris.