Marc Quinn (born 8 January 1964) is a British 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.

Quinn is internationally celebrated and was awarded the commission for the first edition of the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square in 2004, for which he exhibited Alison Lapper Pregnant.

Quinn's notorious frozen self-portrait series made of his own blood, Self (1991–present) was subject to a retrospective at Fondation Beyeler in 2009.

[1][2] He spent his early years in Paris, where his father was a physicist working at the BIPM (Bureau International des Poids et Mesures).

In 1992, the loosely affiliated group was called the 'Young British Artists' by writer Michael Corris in Artforum, and included Cornelia Parker, Sarah Lucas, Damien Hirst, Rachel Whiteread, and Tracey Emin.

[16] In 2004 Quinn was awarded the first ever commission for the Fourth Plinth in London's Trafalgar Square, for which he produced a marble sculpture of pregnant disabled artist, Alison Lapper.

[24] A feature-length documentary about Quinn's life and work, Making Waves, was released in 2014, produced and directed by Gerry Fox.

The exhibition was the first in a new series of collaborations with contemporary artists, designers, and architects, which, inspired by the spirit of Sir John Soane, sought to bring the collection to life in innovative ways.

The artist explored the body and its extremes through the lens of classical and urban materials; works included The Complete Marbles (1999–2005), Alison Lapper Pregnant (2004), Evolution (2005–2009) and Planet (2008).

[28] In 1995 Quinn produced Emotional Detox, a series of seven sculptures made of lead and cast from the artist's own body, were created at this time.

Inspired by traditional iconography of the seven deadly sins, in each sculpture Quinn's body is being torn apart and reconfigured, reflecting detoxification as both a physical and psychological battle.

In 2000, Quinn was given a solo exhibition at the Fondazione Prada, Milan, which included his most ambitious works, involving organic matter.

This culminated in his 15-ton marble statue of Alison Lapper, a fellow artist born with no arms and severely shortened legs, which was displayed on the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square, London from September 2005 until October 2007.

Alison Lapper Pregnant and the controversy surrounding it showcase disability issues at the forefront of current debates in contemporary art".

[3] In August 2008, Quinn unveiled another sculpture of Moss in solid 18-carat gold called Siren, which was exhibited at the British Museum in London.

The initial group of work in this effort were of enlarged press photos of conflicts around the world rendered into oil on canvas paintings or silk or wool jacquard tapestries.

[40] Quinn's models have included "Catman" Dennis Avner (who has been tattooed to look like a cat) and transgender people such as Thomas Beatie, Buck Angel, and Allanah Starr.

Alongside these paintings, a new series of sculptures, cast in stainless steel, including one measuring over 7.5 meters long, form part of a body of work titled Frozen Waves.