80”(h)*103”(w)*107”(d); 580lb; Steel Tubes, Paint; 2023
Crossed circles forming open hearts
XOXO is a traveling sculpture conceived from the imagery of two intersecting circles—an abstract form that evokes the gesture of opening hearts. The concept emerged during the 2020 lockdown, a time when physical expressions of affection—hugs and kisses—were withheld, yet symbolically amplified. Rooted in the abbreviation “XOXO,” the sculpture translates a universal longing for closeness into a shared spatial and emotional imaginary, using the symmetry and fullness of the sphere as its guiding principle.
Designed for public space, XOXO invites people to encounter, celebrate, and embody love in all its forms: romantic, platonic, familial, and collective. It offers a moment of connection, where the boundaries between bodies, hearts, and place gently dissolve into a shared experience of community and space.
The project received a New York Council of the Arts Grant in 2022, in collaboration with the New York Artist Equity Association . Fabricated in Otero Fuentes’s studio in 2023, XOXO was exhibited in Nolan Park, Governors Island, NY, from May 2023 to April 2024, and at Morningside Park, Harlem, NY through October 2024 as part of the Harlem Sculpture Gardens initiative.
