Earlier this year, at a major exhibition in Valencia’s Centre del Carme Cultura Contemporània, art lovers reveled in a riot of color and creativity: large-scale paintings of flora, fauna and dreamscapes; ceramic sculptures of playful, cartoony humanoids; a series of large tapestry masks, handmade with wool; and retro-style furniture that would be right at home in a chic hotel.
It would be reasonable to assume this was a showcase of the most trendsetting Spanish artists of the moment across disciplines. But in fact, the whole show, titled InfinitaMente (a play on words meaning both “infinitely” and “infinite mind”), was a retrospective spotlighting just one: Jaime Hayón, one of the country’s most fascinating and influential talents. Multihyphenate would be an understatement.