Face to Face

Marc Quinn’s eight life-sized sculptural self-portraits were created during a challenging period in his life. In the early 1990’s, the artist was processing the transformation brought on by the end of his alcohol addiction, and spent hours visiting the Messerschmidt sculpture ‘The Strong Smell’ at the V&A in London. Enamoured by the 18th century artist’s expressive depictions, Quinn was inspired to translate into sculpture his physical and psychological torment of detoxification. Using lead and wax, Quinn turned his feelings into physical expressions. Traces of how the works were made and finished remain suspended within the materiality of each artwork. Grooves, convulsions and handprints etched within each expression, as though toxicity has been forced out of the skin. Capturing fleeting emotions in facial expressions and gestures through sculpture connects Marc Quinn and Franz Xaver Messerschmidt across centuries. Both artists’ use lead in their work which is a material famed for its toxicity and role in the fabled alchemic journey that results in gold, a symbol of the beginning of transformation. Both artists’ autobiographical works grapple with profoundly personal transitions in life and offer poignant self-portrayals. This exhibition is the very first showing of these works together.

Marc Quinn, born 1964, is one of the leading artists of his generation. His sculptures, paintings and drawings explore the relationship between art and science; humans and nature; and the human body and the perception of beauty. His work connects frequently and meaningfully with art history, from modern masters right back to antiquity. Quinn came to prominence in 1991 with his sculpture Self (1991), a cast of the artist’s head made from eight pints of his own frozen blood.  While much of his early work focused on explorations of self, Quinn soon became fascinated in reflecting the experiences of others, questioning value, perception and the fault lines of society. Other critically acclaimed works include Alison Lapper Pregnant (2005), exhibited on the Fourth Plinth of London’s Trafalgar Square; Planet (2008), a monumental rendition of the artist’s son as a baby, permanently installed in Gardens by the Bay, Singapore; Breath (2012), a colossal replica of Alison Lapper Pregnant commissioned for the 2012 London Paralympics opening ceremony; and Self Conscious Gene (2019) a 3.5 metre bronze sculpture of ‘Zombie Boy’ Rick Genest, now on permanent display at the Science Museum, London.

Quinn’s work is included in collections around the world, including Tate, London (UK), Metropolitan Museum New York (USA), Guggenheim, Venice (Italy), Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam (Netherlands) and the Centre Pompidou, Paris (France).