Face to face: Marc Quinn meets Franz Xaver Messerschmidt

Marc Quinn's eight life-sized sculptural self-portraits were created during a challenging period in his life. In the early 1990's, the artist was processing the transformation brought on by the end of his alcohol addiction, and spent hours visiting the Messerschmidt sculpture The Strong Smell' at the V&A in London. Enamoured by the 18th century artist's expressive depictions, Quinn was inspired to translate into sculpture his physical and psychological torment of detoxification. Using lead and wax, Quinn turned his feelings into physical expressions. Traces of how the works were made and finished remain suspended within the materiality of each artwork. Grooves, convulsions and handprints etched within each expression, as though toxicity has been forced out of the skin. Capturing fleeting emotions in facial expressions and gestures through sculpture connects Marc Quinn and Franz Xaver Messerschmidt across centuries. Both artists' use lead in their work which is a material famed for its toxicity and role in the fabled alchemic journey that results in gold, a symbol of the beginning of transformation. Both artists' autobiographical works grapple with profoundly personal transitions in life and offer poignant self-portrayals. This exhibition is the very first showing of these works together.