MARC QUINN EXPLORES THE HUMAN FORM AND THE SCIENTIFIC WORLD THROUGH SURREAL AND UNCONVENTIONAL IMAGERY AND MATERIALS.
MARC QUINN, BORN IN 1964 IN LONDON, ENGLAND, IS A CONTEMPORARY VISUAL ARTIST WHOSE WORK INCLUDES SCULPTURE, INSTALLATION, AND PAINTING. QUINN EXPLORES "WHAT IT IS TO BE HUMAN IN THE WORLD TODAY" THROUGH SUBJECTS INCLUDING THE BODY, GENETICS, IDENTITY, ENVIRONMENT, AND THE MEDIA. HE IS A MEMBER OF THE YOUNG BRITISH ARTISTS, A GROUP THAT EMERGED IN LONDON IN THE LATE 1980S AND INCLUDES ARTISTS WHO ARE CONSIDERED TO BE THE MOST SUCCESSFUL OF THEIR GENERATION. THE CONTEMPORARY MASTER WORKED AS AN ASSISTANT FOR THE SCULPTOR BARRY FLANAGAN BEFORE EXHIBITING HIS OWN WORK IN THE EARLY 1990S. QUINN IS KNOWN FOR HIS EXPLORATIONS OF THE HUMAN FORM THROUGH SURREAL IMAGERY AND UNCONVENTIONAL MATERIALS, SUCH AS HIS SELF-PORTRAIT SERIES 'SELF' (1991-PRESENT), WHICH CONSISTS OF SCULPTURAL BUSTS MADE FROM THE ARTIST'S OWN FROZEN BLOOD. ONE OF HIS MOST FAMOUS PROJECTS WAS A PUBLIC INSTALLATION OF 'ALISON LAPPER PREGNANT,' A MONUMENTAL MARBLE SCULPTURE OF A WOMAN BORN WITHOUT ARMS AND WITH SHORTENED LEGS. THE PREGNANT FIGURE OCCUPIED THE FOURTH PLINTH IN LONDON'S TRAFALGAR SQUARE IN 2007, INCITING BOTH CURIOSITY AND NOTORIETY WITHIN AND OUTSIDE THE ART WORLD.