Lorenzo Quinn grew up in a famous actor’s household and chose sculpture anyway. His works have stood in Venice, in front of the Pyramids, at the Vatican, in Qatar. His hands are everywhere — giant hands reaching from canals, hands supporting buildings, hands as the universal gesture of human connection. Lara Palmer spoke with him about art, language, and what it means to make something that belongs to everyone.
Lara Palmer: What is your life philosophy?
Lorenzo Quinn: Memento mori. Life is short. It must be lived now. LP: How would you describe your artistic mission? LQ: To spread unity and love. That is what I have always wanted. My art is about communicating messages and bringing people together. LP: Why the human figure? Why hands? LQ: Figures speak directly about us and our relationships. I want a universal language — something any observer can understand without expertise or explanation. Abstract messages in abstract forms can be misunderstood. Hands carry universally recognisable gestures. That matters enormously to me. LP: The Venice installation — the hands rising from the canal — made you famous globally. Why did it resonate so powerfully? LQ: Honestly, I was lucky. It was the location as much as the work. But the idea itself is simple — genuinely simple — which is exactly the point. Transforming a complex idea into a simple form is one of the hardest things to do. After thirty-six years, I think that ability is one of my main contributions as an artist. The simpler, the more universal. LP: What three features of character define you? LQ: Willpower. Stubbornness. Impulsiveness. Perhaps not the best qualities, but the most accurate. LP: What are you still fighting? LQ: My impulsiveness. Always.