\u201cWe are living in a moment of saturation, and I felt that speaking about love, as an active force, was almost a political gesture.\u201d J. Hayon<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ccmagazine.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Retrato_-pic-by-Giovanni-Ricco_2026.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Love Catcher<\/em> thus arises from an intimate yet shared need: to remind us that even \u2014 or especially \u2014 in times of uncertainty, love remains what sustains us. Not as an abstract concept, but as a daily practice. As something that requires decision, vulnerability and commitment.<\/p>\n The sculpture portrays a character typical of Hayon<\/em>\u2019s universe: approachable, recognisable, with a hint of fantasy. Yet here the gesture is different. The body stretches, elongates, destabilises itself in a visible effort to reach a suspended heart. There is no heroism, no epic narrative. There is fragility.<\/p>\n \u201cLoving today means exposing oneself, stepping outside comfort, stretching towards the other. The gesture of the figure is not heroic or grand; it is vulnerable. And that vulnerability is, for me, a form of courage.\u201d <\/em>says Hayon<\/em>.<\/p>\n In Love Catcher<\/em>, love does not fall from the sky nor is it offered unconditionally. One must go in search of it. That simple act \u2014 stretching \u2014 becomes a powerful metaphor for our time. In a society that rewards emotional distance and self-protection, choosing to love is a stance.<\/p>\n The piece forms part of the new sculptural series Soft Bronze<\/em>, a material and conceptual investigation in which Hayon<\/em> explores the tension between appearance and essence, monumentality and softness, permanence and fragility.<\/p>\n At first glance, Love Catcher<\/em> evokes the solidity of bronze, marble or brass. Yet this solidity is merely visual. The materials are lightweight, flexible, almost soft.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat appears solid is not always so, and what seems fragile can hold enormous symbolic strength. Emotionally, Soft Bronze speaks of our own condition: we are more flexible, more sensitive than we think \u2014 and therein lies our ability to resist and to love.\u201d <\/em>notes the artist.<\/p>\n Within this contrast lies one of the project\u2019s most compelling keys. Lightness does not diminish importance; it amplifies it. Fragility does not weaken the message; it humanises it.<\/p>\n Placing Love Catcher<\/em> in the gardens of Hotel Villa Magna<\/em>, along the Paseo de la Castellana, is far from neutral. This is one of Madrid\u2019s most symbolic axes \u2014 power, business, speed, representation. Introducing a figure stretching towards a heart creates a poetic fissure in the urban logic.<\/p>\n \u201cI am interested in the work coexisting with daily movement, with people who perhaps have not gone out to \u2018see art\u2019 but encounter it. That someone might pass by, lift their gaze and, for a few seconds, connect with something more intimate.\u201d Hayon <\/em>explains.<\/p>\n That accidental encounter is essential. Love Catcher<\/em> requires no prior explanation. It functions as a silent reminder of something fundamental, activated in the most unexpected moment.<\/p>\n Throughout his career, Jaime Hayon<\/em> has been associated with humour, fantasy and playfulness. Love Catcher<\/em> retains these elements, yet introduces a more contained, reflective tone \u2014 perhaps quieter, more intimate.<\/p>\n \u201cFantasy and a certain formal lightness are still present, but the message comes from a very personal place. Love Catcherspeaks about what, for me, is essential \u2014 what we return to when everything else falters: love\u201d<\/em>, he acknowledges.<\/p>\n The work may therefore be read as an intimate manifesto. It does not seek to explain or instruct. It accompanies. It offers itself as presence.<\/p>\n Born in Madrid in 1974, Jaime Hayon<\/em> is one of the most influential figures in contemporary international creativity. With over two decades of practice, his work sits at the intersection of art, design and public space.<\/p>\n His pieces form part of the permanent collections of institutions such as the Centre Pompidou in Paris and the High Museum of Art in Atlanta. He has received numerous accolades, including Spain\u2019s National Design Award<\/em>, and has been recognised by international publications such as Wallpaper<\/em> and Time<\/em> as one of the defining creative icons of his generation.<\/p>\n Beyond awards and recognition, Hayon<\/em> has built a distinctive language that connects with diverse audiences without renouncing complexity or emotion.<\/p>\n Although conceived as a temporary intervention within Madrid Design Festival 2026<\/em>, Love Catcher<\/em> aspires to leave a more enduring emotional legacy. It is not merely about occupying space, but activating an experience.<\/p>\n At a time when the city is often lived as a space of friction, Love Catcher<\/em> proposes something else: a pause, a gesture of care, an invitation to remember that loving \u2014 in all its forms \u2014 remains a profoundly revolutionary act.<\/p>\n Perhaps that is the true strength of this sculpture: not its monumentality, nor its technique, nor even its formal beauty \u2014 but its ability to remind us, amidst daily movement, that in the midst of noise and conflict, love is still what sustains us.<\/p>\n (*)<\/strong> Photos: Giovanni Ricco.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Love as visual resistance Hayon himself defines it as an act of visual resistance. It is not a grand statement nor an empty slogan. In a context saturated with messages appealing to confrontation and constant productivity, speaking about love in the public sphere becomes an almost political gesture. \u201cWe are living in a moment of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":97454,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5910,5902,5901,5900],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-97449","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-madrid-en","category-exhibitions","category-artists","category-art-en"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n\u201cWe are more flexible, more sensitive than we believe, and therein lies our capacity to resist and to love.\u201d J. Hayon<\/h2>\n
A figure stretching: love as a position<\/h6>\n
Soft Bronze: softness as symbolic strength<\/h6>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ccmagazine.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Love-Catcher-1_-pic-by-Giovanni-Ricco_2026.jpg\")
<\/p>\nPublic space as a place for pause<\/h6>\n
Fantasy, humour and a more intimate poetics<\/h6>\n
Jaime Hayon: at the intersection of art, design and public space<\/h6>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ccmagazine.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Love-Catcher-3_-pic-by-Giovanni-Ricco_2026.jpg\")
<\/p>\nLove Catcher and the city: a lasting legacy<\/h6>\n
\u201cI am interested in the work coexisting with daily movement, with people who perhaps have not gone out to \u2018see art\u2019 but encounter it.\u201d J. Hayon<\/h2>\n