flawlessly. Using the lost wax, or cire perdue, process – which is the oldest known form of casting – allows Lorenzo and his team to hand cast sculptures that are true to the ideas he first conceived and then gave form to in modeling wax or clay in his studio. No element is lost, no concept diluted. The foundry is itself an assault on the senses. Walking around and among the various sections, we felt the intense heat from the casting we witnessed, we smelled the various materials being expertly worked, we saw the precision and skill of the team, we heard the cacophony of voices each clambering to be heard above the machinery and we touched the work during the innumerable stages of production. It was an intensely elemental experience for each of us, and one that will remain vivid in our memories for some time to come. This experience has forever changed the way that we look at Lorenzo’s work. Never again will we see ‘Finding Love’ without remembering the twenty hours it takes to polish each one by hand, or the countless hours it can take to get the weighting exactly right to give the piece its exquisite balance. No longer will we remark on the arrival of a new Lorenzo Quinn sculpture without calling to mind how meticulously the work is packaged into bespoke, hand-crafted cases made from high grade American Oak. Whilst the admiration and aesthetic appreciation remains as strong as ever, it is no longer possible to view these sculptures without recalling the many skilled processes involved in each handmade element; it is impossible to see only the beauty without remembering the omnipresent quest for quality; and it is certainly no longer possible to read the titles without feeling the genuine and heartfelt emotion that fuels each one.
104 FINE ART COLLECTOR AUTUMN 2016
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