Maurizio Cattelan | L.O.V.E.

Maurizio Cattelan

L.O.V.E.

Cicognara, Italy: Seletti, 2015

40 x 18.03 x 18.03 cm.

Open edition

Last week the Italian sculptor Arturo Di Modica, who produced the  7000-pound bronze Wall Street Stock Exchange statue Charging Bull, charged that the Fearless Girl sculpture placed in front of it's path "corrupts the artistic integrity" of his work. He is demanding that it be removed. 

The stock exchange in Italy also features a contentious public monument - L.O.V.E. by Maurizio Cattelan. It consists of a four metre high marble hand missing three fingers, with the middle finger remaining and erect. It sits on a base that brings the work to a height of 11 metres. L.O.V.E. stands for Libertà, Odio, Vendetta, Eternità, which translates to Freedom, Hate, Vengeance, Eternity. 

Installed in 2010, the sculpture was - like Fearless Girl - originally intended to be on display for only a few weeks, but local government extended its stay. The Borsa Italiana is located in Milan, the third-largest market for contemporary art after London and New York City. A search of Google maps reveals that the work is currently (or as recently as the last Google car drive by) wrapped in a pink Cancer Awareness ribbon. 

This 2015 cast cement version is produced as a 1:28 model of the original. It is listed as an open edition, but copies are already selling for upwards of $1500 at auction. Some sites list than only 200 were produced. 

L.O.V.E.  is also available as a snowglobe and music box.