Marc Quinn

Marc Quinn was born in London in 1964. He read History of Art at Cambridge University (1982-85) and began working as a sculptor in 1984. Often grouped with the YBAs or Young British Artists, Quinn is one of the most interesting and compelling artists working today. The work that brought him into the larger public consciousness was Self (1991)…

Marc Quinn was born in London in 1964. He read History of Art at Cambridge University (1982-85) and began working as a sculptor in 1984. Often grouped with the YBAs or Young British Artists, Quinn is one of the most interesting and compelling artists working today. The work that brought him into the larger public consciousness was Self (1991), a cast of the artist's head made from 4.5 litres of his own blood. Critical acclaim both at home and abroad has ensured that his work has been included in numerous exhibitions around the world. Shows such as the Sydney Biennale in 1992, Young British Artists II at the Saatchi Gallery in 1993 and Sensation at the Royal Academy of Arts in 1997 helped to enhance his growing reputation.

Recently, Quinn has investigated the essential structure of self - DNA and the human genome - in his extraordinary Portrait of Sir John Sulston, shown at the National Portrait Gallery in 2001. Here, he was able to create a piece that fused both portraiture and biography and contained every conceivable characteristic of the illustrious scientist. He has since produced a self-portrait involving a test tube containing a sample of his own DNA. In addition, he has frozen flowers and plants in silicone, preserving each as a perfect specimen but freezing their life force at the same time. Beauty and death in these works are presented simultaneously. Apparent human imperfection has also attracted Quinn as a subject. In 1999 he began a series of portraits of people without limbs, carved to his instructions by artisans in perfect white marble to the exact likeness of the sitters, who were either damaged in the womb or through accident, war or illness.