Lorenzo Quinn: "I am the artist of love"

When you arrive at Lorenzo Quinn's 3,000-square-meter studio workshop near Barcelona, by the sea, the first thing that strikes you is the sculpture of a giant hand with a large paintbrush and the message "Paint your own life". 

And is that the creative DNA that runs through the veins of Lorenzo since birth makes this half-Italian, half-American artist who has lived in Spain for 25 years has been, probably many lives, painting, sculpting, writing, creating and loving his own life.

His penetrating, blue gaze conveys, in equal parts, the creative genius of a visionary of art and the authenticity of someone for whom values and love are the driving force behind his work and his daily life.

Who is Lorenzo Quinn? 

I am an artist, I am a sculptor. I am a person who needs to communicate. For me communication is very important and, through my sculptures, I communicate universal messages of union and love. I am a very, very sensitive person, sometimes too sensitive...

Have you always felt you were an artist?

Yes, I have always seen myself as an artist. I write all the poems that accompany my sculptures, I have composed several songs, I have made films, about 11 or 12 films and I even won the award for Best New Actor at the Biarritz Festival but I did not continue. Then I opted initially for painting and then for sculpture.

Why did you give up your film career? 

Well look, I'll tell you that I'm a freakie of control. I like to control the situation and in cinema you can't control anything because to make a film you need a very big team. It's much harder to make a good film than a good painting or a good sculpture. If you are a good artist, sure you will create a good work but if you are a good actor you won't always act in a good film.

And why did you finally decide to focus on sculpture?

Because of the material. I am very tactile. The tangible is very important to me. That which I can touch, that which I can mold. And since I cannot create life as a man, in my own way, I give birth to sculptural works.

You grew up between Italy and the U.S. What has each of these cultures brought you to the person and artist you are today?

The American side has brought me the part of the business vision and the Italian side the part of feelings and emotions. 

Everything is a great competition there and the sensitivity of human values is lost. It is a very creative city where a lot of things happen but that generates a pressure to stand out somehow in that concrete jungle.

The moment you think it's normal to see a homeless person sleeping in front of Tiffany's store as if nothing is happening, that's the moment you have to get out of there because your heart is hardening.

So you chose Spain to live in...
Yes, we have been living in Spain for 25 years. Here life is very beautiful but the business side is missing. You live very well, you eat very well, the friends are real but there is a lack of this need to create new things to stand out and this part is a bit missing for me here.

There are artists who perhaps have been more selfish and thinking only of themselves have achieved greater triumphs. I will not become a great artist because I am not so selfish to go to live for example to New York or Miami because it is convenient for me, but I do not think it was the best environment to educate my children.

That difference in cultural environments, in what way has it marked your work?
For example, in New York I created works of art in the United States For example in New York I created very hard works with a strong energetic charge, inspired by the culture and the kind of life there like "The Hand of God" or "Staircase of Life", which reflect the passing of time and the stages of life. At the age of 23, when I was living in New York, I was already obsessed by the passage of time! The sculptures I've been making since I've been in Spain are much more harmonious and emotional. The environment undoubtedly marks the work you do.

Who have been your artistic references? 
As a teenager, all the Renaissance artists like Michelangelo or Bernini. Then Rodin...and I loved Dalí for his imagination and his power to make you travel through his works.

You are also known for your jewelry collections. Are your jewels sculptures or your sculptures are jewels?
Something interesting is that, on a couple of occasions, two pieces of jewelry have inspired a sculpture but it's usually the other way around. First I create the sculpture and then I redesign it and adapt it to the jewelry. It's not a simple thing to do but the message and concept is maintained in both the jewelry and the sculpture. It's a way for me to transcend and reach out to other places.
Not everyone can afford one of my sculptures since the most affordable ones are sold from 6.000€. On the other hand, the jewels offer the possibility of having access to a work of mine that you can also wear. 

How would you define your customer profile?
They are people who buy the work, not as an investment, but for the message, because it conveys something personal. I have had clients, for example, extreme cases, who have bought a sculpture of mine to give it to their ex-wife and have told her: "you see, what this sculpture represents is what I have always wanted to tell you".

I had a very emotional case of a couple in which he became terminally ill with cancer and ended up dying but, when the cancer was detected, they began to collect my work conscientiously. They started buying a piece of "Time flies", "Finding love", "Destiny"...and pieces that were related to their life at that moment. They saw their life reflected in my sculptures.

Why have hands become the most characteristic hallmark of your work?
One of the reasons why I use hands a lot is because gestures are universal and everyone can see themselves reflected in them, unlike a sculptural body, anatomically almost perfect One of the reasons why I use hands a lot is because the gestures are universal and everyone can see themselves reflected in them, unlike a sculptural body, anatomically almost perfect.

You named earlier one of your pieces called "Destiny". Does Lorenzo Quinn believe in destiny?
Well, I've asked myself that question many times. I do believe in destiny, even if I'm not certain, but I think there is a destiny marked in general and then you have freedom of movement. It's like getting on a ship that you know will arrive at a certain port but what you do on the ship during the journey is up to you. And surely the people you will meet throughout your life are already on that same boat.

Values are very present in your work. What are Lorenzo Quinn's values?
Empathy for me is very important Empathy for me is very important. It is something that has stopped being taught. Already for the ancient Greeks it was very important. And obviously love. I consider myself the artist of love. There is a lot of hatred in the world and hatred can only be overcome with love. I like to look for the positive side of things. 

Also, speaking of values, I have been very fortunate that I have never had to prostitute myself artistically. I have never sold something that I don't like to create. What I like to create and transmit is what I sell, and love is a constant leit-motiv in my work.

Do you believe more in the muses and inspiration or in work and perseverance?
Obviously if you don't work, you don't find it Obviously if you don't work, you don't find inspiration, but inspiration is very important. There are moments of a huge creative load and then you empty yourself. And I'm always afraid that that creative energy won't come back. But for me the work is not just sculpting. 

When I sculpt I have already created the work in my head before: I have thought and defined the subject, I have written about it and I have already visualized before the image of what I want to do. When the creative load is low, I read a lot and I document myself about the subjects that interest me so that the inspiration comes back.

The word luxury is worn out lately. What is luxury for Lorenzo Quinn?
To begin with, the most important luxury is health because without it you can't enjoy any other luxury. Apart from that, for me luxury today has a lot to do with authenticity. We are in a highly creative moment globally, with many artists spreading their art through social networks.

In my field of sculpture, it is impossible to make a sculpture a day...in fact I am quite prolific with 10-12 sculptures a year with several versions of each one. So, I'm not like a photographer that I can post on social media something new every day.

When artists starting out ask me for advice, I always tell them that the most important thing is to find your own stamp, your own authentic voice to differentiate yourself from others.

Your public works can be found in some of the world's major cities. In which cities would you like to see one of your works?
I would love to go back to New York with a major work there. One of my dreams that I will surely fulfill is to do a big work in Paris soon. Obviously in Venice I fulfilled a dream with works like "Building Bridges" and Rome is also a city where I would like to have one of my works, since it's the place where I was born.

And I would like to be recognized here. I've been in Spain for 25 years and I don't have anything in Barcelona, because unfortunately I think that art is not given importance in this country.

You are collaborating with the UN in a project related to "Gaia", Mother Earth and sustainability.
For me sustainability is very important. People of my generation are very aware of how badly we have treated the planet and we want to fix it but I don't see that awareness existing sometimes as strongly in later generations. 

What are your future projects? 
I just created a company called "Encryptoart" to detect forgeries of works of art through blockchain technology and certify works because people place a lot of value on authenticity. And I think this is something that is going to transcend to other sectors such as fashion for sure.

And I am opening a new creative channel through the NFT (Non Fungible Tokens). It consists of creating digital works through blockchain technology. There I will start to reinterpret my work in a much more fanciful way, something I can't do in real life. A parallel universe.

The biography of your website is titled "Life is a wonderful journey" and we know that you are passionate about traveling. If you had to represent what is the journey through a sculpture, how would it be?
It would certainly be a bird Without a doubt it would be a bird. If you are a bird you can travel and fly over and cross borders without any problem. It would be something wonderful!

If you are a bird you can travel and fly over and cross borders without any problem. It would be something wonderful! 

What trips would you repeat and what trips do you still dream of doing?
Some amazing trips we have taken were to Peru and another to Botswana and South Africa. I love Africa and would love to go back and travel to Namibia. It was also a great trip we took to Bora Bora and I regret not extending the trip to visit Easter Island.

Your pending trips...
To Mongolia, Burma, Japan or the Orient-Express.
A unique city...
Venice, no doubt.