Lorenzo Quinn, the sculptor best known for the giant hands that have appeared in Venice, has returned to the city where he was born. As Vanity Fair Italia reports, his first solo exhibition in Rome, Hi Human – L’uno nell’altro (roughly, “one within the other”), is on show at the Teldil Art Gallery on Corso Vittorio Emanuele II until 9 January 2027. Quinn, the son of the Oscar-winning actor Anthony Quinn, turned sixty this year and has been working as an artist for around four decades.
Hands as a universal language
Hands are the heart of Quinn’s work. In his interview with Vanity Fair Italia, he explains that they speak a language everyone understands: love, protection, help and solidarity. A sculpted hand, he adds, does not belong to any one group of people; it simply stands for being human. That idea has guided his best-known public pieces, from Support, the two white hands that rose from the Grand Canal in 2017, to Building Bridges, six pairs of towering hands installed at the Arsenale in Venice since 2019.
The title of the Rome show plays on the English phrase “high-tech”. According to the Rome news site La Capitale, the exhibition, curated by Marco Giammetta and spread over more than 600 square metres, asks how much room is left for touch, empathy and real relationships in a world shaped by technology. Quinn’s view is balanced: he believes Leonardo da Vinci would have loved today’s tools, but would have insisted that they support human creativity rather than replace it. The real danger, he says, is laziness.
Mater Roma, a gift to his home city
The highlight is a new work made for Rome, Mater Roma. Two raised hands hold a heart, and inside it the Capitoline she-wolf watches over Romulus and Remus. Quinn finished it less than a month ago between Carrara and Pietrasanta, and presented it to the mayor, Roberto Gualtieri. For the artist, it tells the story of a city born not from conquest but from care and welcome. Although he now divides his time between Abu Dhabi and Greece, he told the magazine that he has never really left Rome.
The gallery itself is new: it opened in May 2026 in a historic former Bank of Italy building, founded by Teldil Moreira.
Quinn’s sculptures are a reminder of how much our hands say about us. A favourite ring, a fine bracelet or a simple bangle can carry the same kind of meaning, especially when it is a gift from someone close. Colourful multi-gemstone rings are a lovely way to bring a little warmth to winter outfits.
Sources: Vanity Fair Italia, interview with Lorenzo Quinn by Maria Grazia Filippi (27 October 2026); La Capitale, “Lorenzo Quinn torna a Roma con Hi Human” (23 October 2026); Artribune, exhibition listing “Lorenzo Quinn – Hi Human l’uno nell’altro”; Teldil Art Gallery. Featured image: AI-generated illustration, not an artwork by the artist.
