On display until november 26th outside the Ca’ Sagredo Hotel in Venice, Italian artist Lorenzo Quinn‘s Support sculpture features two large hands emerging from the grand canal for the Venice Art Biennale 2017. Represented by the Halcyon Gallery, the massive sculpture aims to make a statement on the effects of global warming. Quinn, known to use body parts – and especially hands – in his sculptures, uses the gigantic limbs as a force of nature that braces the canal-side structure, both reinforcing it in the face of decay while at the same time suggesting a force of nature equally capable of destroying it. The commentary exposes the fragility of our built and natural environment and its susceptibility to the forces of nature and man.
‘I wanted to sculpt what is considered the hardest and most technically challenging part of the human body. The hand holds so much power – the power to love, to hate, to create, to destroy’ – Lorenzo Quinn
‘Venice is a floating art city that has inspired cultures for centuries, but to continue to do so it needs the support of our generation and future ones, because it is threatened by climate change and time decay’ – Lorenzo Quinn
For Quinn, sculpture is primarily an art of communication, a medium through which he aims to help people evolve further in tolerance, understanding and harmony. ‘I make art for myself and for people who wish to come along for a ride through my dreams’, he says. ‘How we live our own lives is of the utmost importance, and most of my work has to do with values and emotions.’
Born on 7 May 1966 in Rometo the Mexican-American actor Anthony Quinn and his second wife, costume designer Iolanda Addolori, Lorenzo Quinn had a childhood split betweenItaly and theUnited States of America. His father had a profound influence on him, both in terms of living in the limelight of the film world and with respect to Anthony’s early work in painting and architecture.
Among the artists whose influence Quinn cites are Michelangelo, Bernini and Rodin. His creative ideas spark quickly into life: ‘The inspiration comes within a millisecond’, he says, as he is driven to sculpt by observing life’s everyday energy. Yet a finished project takes months to realise, and it has to carry clear meaning. Quinn usually conceives each work in writing, and the poetic text is ultimately displayed with the sculpture, as an integral part of the piece, not merely explanation.
“Life is a wonderfull endless journey… if you know how to live it.”
Lorenzo Quinn: website / instagram
Via: designboom.com