Marc Quinn
Marc Quinn is an individual contemporary British artist whose London-based practice produces sculpture, painting, and installation work sold through blue-chip galleries, Sotheby's, public commissions, art fairs, and a direct online store, serving museums, private collectors, and fashion/commercial partners worldwide.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1964
- HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingServices
What Marc Quinn does
Marc Quinn is an individual contemporary British artist born in London in 1964 who has maintained an active studio practice for over three decades. His work spans sculpture, painting, drawing, photography, and installation, exploring recurring themes of the human body, mortality, beauty, science, and time. The practice is distinguished by novel material and technical approaches including life casting and frozen-blood self-portraits (the Self series, refreshed every five years since 1991), lost-wax bronze casting in Pietrasanta, Italy, 3D scanning and printing for sculpture, DNA portraiture developed with Nobel laureate Sir John Sulston, and large-scale frozen botanical installations maintained at sub-zero temperatures (such as Garden at Fondazione Prada, which uses 25 tons of liquid silicone at -20°C).
Quinn operates as a sole practitioner with a small London-based studio team, monetizing the practice through multiple parallel channels: primary-market sales of original works via blue-chip galleries (White Cube, Gagosian, Mary Boone Gallery, Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac), secondary-market distribution through Sotheby's annual "Beyond Limits" selling exhibitions at Chatsworth House, public art commissions (Greater London Authority, Gardens by the Bay Singapore), direct-to-consumer sales of limited editions, multiples, books, and branded merchandise through shop.marcquinn.com, art fair participation (Frieze, Art Basel, FIAC, Art Central Hong Kong), and commercial collaborations with fashion houses (Alexander McQueen, Louis Vuitton, Dior, Harper's Bazaar). His works are held in the permanent collections of major museums worldwide, including Tate, the National Portrait Gallery, the British Museum, Fondazione Prada, CAFA Art Museum Beijing, and Gardens by the Bay Singapore. The artist retains full creative and operational control with no external shareholders, funding rounds, or institutional ownership disclosed.
Marc Quinn firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Marc Quinn
- Legal name
- Marc Quinn
- Website
- https://marcquinn.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1964
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Marc Quinn is an individual contemporary British artist whose London-based practice produces sculpture, painting, and installation work sold through blue-chip galleries, Sotheby's, public commissions, art fairs, and a direct online store, serving museums, private collectors, and fashion/commercial partners worldwide.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where Marc Quinn is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- London
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Marc Quinn business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Operations, Personnel, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Fine Art Sales: Primary revenue through the sale of original artworks including sculptures, paintings, and installations. Works are sold through galleries, at auction, and directly through the artist's studio. Marc Quinn's works command significant prices at major auction houses and are held in prestigious museum collections worldwide.
- Limited Editions and Multiples: Sale of limited edition prints, sculptures, and multiples through the online store and at art fairs. The 'Human Reproduction' initiative exhibits limited edition works and multiples as a collective at art fairs like Art Stage Singapore, Art Central Hong Kong, and Art New York.
- Publications and Books: Sale of books and exhibition catalogues through the online store, including the 520-page 'Marc Quinn Memory Box' published by Skira.
- Licensing and Commissions: Public art commissions and licensing of works for exhibition at institutions. Examples include the permanent installation of 'Planet' at Gardens by the Bay Singapore and the 'Alison Lapper Pregnant' sculpture for Trafalgar Square's Fourth Plinth.
- Fashion and Collaborations: Collaborations with fashion houses including Alexander McQueen for runway installations and Harper's Bazaar for portrait features. Louis Vuitton exhibited Quinn's Kate Moss sculptures in their Tokyo exhibition.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Original Artworks - Gallery/Auction Sales |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels10 records
Marc Quinn product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Marc Quinn is an independent contemporary artist who creates and sells original sculptures, paintings, drawings, photographs, and large-scale installations exploring themes of the body, mortality, beauty, science, and identity. He sells unique artworks through gallery representations (White Cube, Gagosian, Mary Boone, Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac) and at auction (Sotheby's), and offers limited editions, multiples, books, catalogues, and branded merchandise directly through shop.marcquinn.com, supplemented by public commissions and fashion/editorial collaborations.
Product overview
Marc Quinn is a leading contemporary British artist (born 1964) whose practice encompasses painting, drawing, photography, sculpture, and installation. His work explores recurring themes of the human body, mortality, beauty, science, and time. Quinn's portfolio includes notable series such as 'Self' (frozen blood self-portraits, 1991-present), 'The Complete Marbles' (1999-2005), 'History Painting' (2009-present), 'Evolution' (2005-2009), 'DNA' works (2000-2001), 'Held by Desire' (2013-present), and 'HISTORYNOW' (2020-present). The artist's commercial offerings include limited editions, unique artworks, publications, and branded merchandise sold through his integrated online store at shop.marcquinn.com.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Limited Editions Limited edition prints and artworks available for purchase through the artist's dedicated ecommerce platform, sold directly to collectors and enthusiasts via shop.marcquinn.com.
- Unique Artworks Original, one-of-a-kind artworks available for purchase directly from the artist through his online store, providing collector access to unique pieces outside of gallery channels.
- Books and Exhibition Catalogues Published books, exhibition catalogues, and art publications documenting the artist's work and exhibitions, available through the online store.
- Branded Clothing and Merchandise Branded apparel and clothing items featuring the artist's imagery and designs, sold as merchandise through shop.marcquinn.com.
- Public Art Commissions Large-scale site-specific public artworks commissioned by cities, governments, and institutions — for example 'Planet' at Gardens by the Bay Singapore and 'Alison Lapper Pregnant' for Trafalgar Square's Fourth Plinth.
- Original Sculptures and Paintings Original sculptures, paintings, and installations sold through gallery representations and at major auction houses, targeting museums and private collectors.
Quantifiable outcome
- Works held in collections of major international museums including Tate, National Portrait Gallery, British Museum, and institutions in China, Singapore, USA, and across Europe
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Marc Quinn
Customer profileNamed customers10 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Marc Quinn technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
Marc Quinn partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, minor and core.
- Royal Botanical Gardens, KewflagshipMajor solo exhibition 'Light into Life' (May-September 2024) featuring monumental sculptures across the Gardens alongside works in the Shirley Sherwood Gallery. Collaboration with Kew's teams of scientists and horticulturists. Includes site-specific works based on herbarium specimens and plants from Kew's collections.
- Musée des Arts Décoratifs, ParisminorWorks included in 'Christian Dior, Couturier du Rêve' exhibition celebrating the 70th anniversary of the House of Dior.
- Harper's Bazaar USminorQuinn created iris portraits of fashion figures Stella McCartney, Sarah Burton, and Karl Lagerfeld featured in the September 2015 issue. The 2-meter 'stealth portraits' captured the sitter's iris in incredible detail.
- Alexander McQueencoreQuinn's orchid sculptures 'Etymology Of Desire' and 'Prehistory Of Desire' formed the centrepiece of the Alexander McQueen women's ready-to-wear Spring/Summer 2015 show during Paris Fashion Week.
- Louis VuittonminorTwo Quinn sculptures of Kate Moss ('Sphinx' 2005, 'The Road to Enlightenment' 2006) were exhibited in Louis Vuitton's 'Timeless Muses' exhibition at the Tokyo Station Hotel.
- Royal Horticultural SocietycoreFirst collaboration in the RHS Chelsea Flower Show's 100-year history where the RHS worked with an artist to create an installation. Quinn created a garden/installation for the 2013 show.
- London 2012 Paralympic Gamesflagship'Breath', an 11-meter inflatable version of 'Alison Lapper Pregnant', was the centrepiece of the London 2012 Paralympic Games opening ceremony, welcoming visitors to the Church of San Giorgio Maggiore in Venice.
- Fabergé / Action for Children / Elephant FamilyminorQuinn created a Fabergé Egg inspired by his 'Labyrinth' series as part of 'The Fabergé Big Egg Hunt' charitable initiative.
- Gardens by the Bay, SingaporeflagshipPermanent installation of 'Planet' (2008), a monumental painted bronze and steel sculpture depicting Quinn's sleeping son. The work has been on permanent display since 2013 following exhibitions at Chatsworth House and Musée Océanographique Monaco.
- Greater London Authority / Mayor of Londonflagship'Alison Lapper Pregnant' installed on Trafalgar Square's Fourth Plinth (2005-2007), one of the most significant public art commissions in recent British history. The 3.5 tonne marble sculpture challenged notions of beauty, disability, and heroism in public monuments.
- The Wellcome TrustcoreSupported the commission of 'A Genomic Portrait: Sir John Sulston' (2001), the first entirely conceptual portrait acquired by the National Portrait Gallery. The portrait incorporates Sir John Sulston's DNA sample.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Marc Quinn competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Gary Hume: Original YBA contemporary represented by Matthew Marks and White Cube with similar painterly/sculptural practice. Both artists were launched through Charles Saatchi's patronage and operate in overlapping institutional and collector networks.
- Banksy: British contemporary artist with comparable brand ubiquity, edition/print business at scale (Pest Control), and auction presence at Sotheby's/Christie's. While working in a different medium (street/stencil vs. sculpture), Banksy operates in the same UK contemporary-art market tier and collector ecosystem.
- Ai Weiwei: Internationally recognized contemporary installation and sculpture artist with comparable monument-scale public works and museum survey shows. Both artists use unconventional materials, address political/human themes, and show with major global institutions.
- Tracey Emin: Original YBA contemporary working across confessional sculpture, painting, and installation with similar gallery distribution (White Cube, Lehmann Maupin). Emin shares Quinn's body-and-identity thematic focus and similar tier of museum collections and auction presence.
- Anish Kapoor: Leading British contemporary sculptor with comparable global gallery representation (Lisson, Regen Projects, Galerie Xavier Hufkens) and monumental public installations. Both artists command top-of-market primary and secondary pricing for large-scale sculpture and work with similar institutional collectors.
- Grayson Perry: British contemporary known for cross-disciplinary practice (ceramics, textiles, print, tapestry) with major public commissions and institutional shows. Both artists blend craft, body politics, and cultural commentary and operate at top-of-market institutional tier.
- Antony Gormley: British contemporary sculptor focused on the human body, with comparable museum holdings (Tate, British Museum) and major permanent public installations. Both artists explore bodily form and have parallel institutional client bases.
- Sarah Lucas: Original YBA contemporary represented by Sadie Coles HQ and exhibiting similar themes of body, gender, and identity. Both artists emerged from the Goldsmiths scene and continue to show at top institutional venues.
- Damien Hirst: Fellow original Young British Artist who emerged alongside Quinn in the early 1990s and is represented by many of the same blue-chip galleries. Both artists use unconventional biological and preservation-based materials (formaldehyde animals vs. frozen blood) and operate at the top of the contemporary art market with comparable primary, secondary, and edition revenue models.
Broad incumbents
- Jeff Koons: American contemporary artist operating at the highest commercial tier with monumental sculptures, brand collaborations, and auction records far above Quinn. Comparable in scale of ambition, blue-chip gallery representation, and luxury brand partnerships but with a substantially larger commercial footprint.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Marc Quinn social profiles
Digital presenceMarc Quinn financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Marc Quinn leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Marc Quinn funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Marc Quinn M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Marc Quinn
What does Marc Quinn do?
Marc Quinn is an independent contemporary artist who creates and sells original sculptures, paintings, drawings, photographs, and large-scale installations exploring themes of the body, mortality, beauty, science, and identity. He sells unique artworks through gallery representations (White Cube, Gagosian, Mary Boone, Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac) and at auction (Sotheby's), and offers limited editions, multiples, books, catalogues, and branded merchandise directly through shop.marcquinn.com, supplemented by public commissions and fashion/editorial collaborations.
Is Marc Quinn a public or private company?
Marc Quinn is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Marc Quinn founded?
Marc Quinn was founded in 1964. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Marc Quinn based?
Marc Quinn is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Marc Quinn make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Fine Art Sales are the primary driver. The others are limited Editions and Multiples, publications and Books, licensing and Commissions and fashion and Collaborations.
Who are Marc Quinn's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Gary Hume, Banksy, Ai Weiwei, Tracey Emin, Anish Kapoor, Grayson Perry, Antony Gormley, Sarah Lucas and Damien Hirst. Jeff Koons is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does Marc Quinn have an API?
No public API is recorded for Marc Quinn.