LOVE wire sculpture by Alexander Milov, from Burning Man 2015 to the Haraszthy estate, Vál, Hungary
LOVE
Alexander Milov · “LOVE”, steel wire-frame adults with lit-up child figures inside, made in Ukraine for Burning Man 2015 · since 2017 in the vineyards of the Haraszthy estate, Vál, Hungary
Photo: Emily Rosen, at Burning Man 2015, as credited by Street Art Utopia
Two wire adults sit back to back, sulking, while the children inside them reach for each other and glow after dark. Ukrainian sculptor Alexander Milov built LOVE for Burning Man 2015 in the Nevada desert, and Burning Man’s own archive calls it a standout of that year. It did not stay in America: the artist says a Hungarian winemaker bought it, and since 1 September 2017 it has stood among the vines of the Haraszthy estate in Vál, not far from Budapest. The big LOVE in Odesa is a second, full-size copy from 2018. The winery’s own page about the sculpture was last updated on 22 September 2026.
5 things to know
- Built in Ukraine for Burning Man 2015Burning Man’s own 2015 archive names “the standout Love by Ukrainian sculptor Alexander Milov”. Colossal wrote in September 2015 that it was “the first time in 30 years that Ukraine has received a grant to produce work for the festival”. Milov’s site says the organisers approved the project in March 2015. Burning Man · Colossal, 2015 · Milov
- The children light up at nightMilov, quoted by Colossal: “As it’s getting dark (night falls) the children chart [start] to shine. This shining is a symbol of purity and sincerity that brings people together and gives a chance of making up when the dark time arrives.” Colossal, 2015 · My Modern Met, 2015
- Sold to a Hungarian winemakerMilov’s site says “Odessa residents received an offer to buy a sculpture from a winemaker from Hungary”, and that “In August 2017, the sculpture was brought to Hungary and installed.” The official opening was on 1 September 2017. The winery says it reached the Haraszthy estate in 2017 “kalandos úton” (“by an adventurous route”). Milov · Haraszthy · Ukraine Kiev Tour
- The Odesa LOVE is a copyAfter the sale, Milov says, “a full-size copy of LOVE was launched into production, the installation of which took place in 2018.” A Ukrainian tour site dates it to 4 December 2018, in a park in front of the Zvezdnyi cinema, and calls it “the second large scale copy of the sculpture”. The Odessa Journal in 2020 wrote of “this sculpture” in Odesa without mentioning the copy, which is why this file marks that point as Conflicting. Ukraine Kiev Tour · Milov · Odessa Journal, 2020
- Open day and night, for freeThe winery: “A szobor bármilyen időszakban és napszakban szabadon látogatható.” (“The sculpture can be visited freely at any time of year and day.”) It sits in the middle of the estate’s Vál vineyards, which hold a yearly LOVE festival at the sculpture and sell a LOVE wine. Haraszthy (HU) · Haraszthy (EN)
Check-in guide
- 📍
- Haraszthy estate (Haraszthy birtok), 2473 Vál, Fejér County, Hungary, on the Vál ridge in the middle of the estate’s vineyards (Haraszthy, Wikipedia (HU)).
- 🕐
- Open 0–24, 365 days a year, free entry, according to the winery. Its page suggests dawn, when the low sun shines through the wire frame (Haraszthy).
- 🍷
- Wine tastings are at the winery in Etyek (2091 Etyek, Vincellér utca 44), not at the sculpture (Haraszthy).
- 🧭
- The Maps button uses the GPS position published by Ukraine Kiev Tour for the original in Vál, 47°22′42.8″N 18°40′56.0″E (47.378556, 18.682222).
Sightings
- 201516 Sep
Colossal: at Burning Man
- 20171 Sep
Installed in Vál
- 20266 May
Winery page published
- 202622 Sep
Winery page updated
Every stamp links to the dated source. All four are amber: dated reports and records, not photos with a known capture date. Colossal published photos of the sculpture at Burning Man on 16 September 2015. Ukraine Kiev Tour and Milov’s own site give 1 September 2017 as the opening in Vál. The Haraszthy winery’s page on the sculpture, which says it stands in the Vál vineyards and can be visited day and night, was published on 6 May 2026 and last updated on 22 September 2026, according to the dates in the site’s own page data. Its photos of the sculpture in the vineyards sit in upload folders from May and June 2026, but carry no capture date. We found no dated photo of the sculpture in Vál on Wikimedia Commons. The Odesa copy is a separate object and is not counted here.
On the record
Large Wire-Frame Sculpture Shows the Glowing Forms of Children Trapped Within Adult Bodies
“Milov’s sculpture titled Love depicts a scene of conflict with hope and innocence rising from within.”
Kate Sierzputowski’s report from the 2015 festival, with Milov’s own description of the piece.
LOVE · Vál: Ahol a szerelem lakik
“2017-ben kalandos úton került Magyarországra, a Haraszthy birtokra.”
“In 2017 it came to Hungary by an adventurous route, to the Haraszthy estate.” The owner’s page on the sculpture, titled “Where love lives”.
Sculpture LOVE of Alexander Milov is installed in Odessa
“The first original sculpture that has been presented during Burning Man Festival 2015 was transfered from USA and installed on 1st of September 2017 in Vál, Hungary”
The page announcing the Odesa copy, which it calls “the second large scale copy of the sculpture”.
Odessa artist: 5 artworks by Alexander Milov
“Today, this sculpture adorns the Odessa square near the “Zvyozdny” cinema theatre.”
Written after the Burning Man section without saying that the Odesa piece is a copy. Milov’s own site and the 2018 Odesa announcement say it is.
The facts
- Artist
- Alexander Milov, Ukrainian sculptor (Burning Man, Colossal, My Modern Met, Haraszthy) Checked. Described as an “Odessa artist” by the Odessa Journal in 2020 (Odessa Journal) Reported. His studio’s site says he arrived in Bali in 2022 to launch a new project and stayed there because of the war in Ukraine (lovemilov.com) Reported
- Title
- “LOVE”, also written “Love” (Milov, Burning Man, Haraszthy) Checked. In Hungarian Wikipedia’s entry on Vál it is the “Váli szerelemszobor” (Vál love statue) (Wikipedia (HU)) Reported
- Made
- 2015, built in Ukraine for Burning Man 2015 in Black Rock City, Nevada, USA, with a festival grant (Burning Man, Colossal, Demilked, Milov) Checked. English Wikipedia says Milov had the idea in 2007 and showed a small tape-and-wire version in Kyiv; the artist’s page we read describes a sketch submitted for the grant at the end of 2014 (Wikipedia, Milov) Unconfirmed
- Material
- Two welded steel wire-frame adults with lit child figures inside (Colossal, Milov) Checked. The children are fibreglass according to Milov’s site, which says a car body maker made them; English Wikipedia says plaster. We lean to the artist’s account (Milov, Wikipedia) Conflicting
- Size
- The winery gives 10 m high and 16 m wide (Haraszthy), as does Hungarian Wikipedia (10 m high, 16 m long) (Wikipedia (HU)). English Wikipedia, citing a 2016 Burning Man art book, gives 58 × 18 × 24 ft, about 17.7 m long, 5.5 m wide and 7.3 m high (Wikipedia), close to the 17.5 × 5.5 × 7.5 m given for the full-size Odesa copy (Ukraine Kiev Tour) Conflicting
- Place
- 2015: Burning Man, Black Rock City, Nevada (Burning Man) Checked. Since 2017: Haraszthy estate, Vál, Fejér County, Hungary, in the middle of the estate’s vineyards (Haraszthy, Milov, Ukraine Kiev Tour, Wikipedia (HU)) Checked
- Moved
- Bought by a Hungarian winemaker, brought to Hungary in August 2017 and officially opened on 1 September 2017 (Milov, Ukraine Kiev Tour) Checked. Milov’s site says the sale paid for restoring the original before it was set up in Vál (Milov) Reported
- Copy
- A second, full-size LOVE was made in Ukraine and installed on 4 December 2018 in a park in front of the Zvezdnyi cinema, Odesa (Ukraine Kiev Tour, Milov) Checked. The Odessa Journal (2020) describes the Odesa piece as the Burning Man sculpture itself; we follow the artist, who calls it a copy (Odessa Journal) Conflicting
- Our photo
- The photo above was taken at night at Burning Man 2015 and shows the original: the two wire adults back to back and the lit children touching hands, as in the 2015 press photos (Colossal, My Modern Met) Checked. Street Art Utopia credits it to Emily Rosen.
- Status
- Seen September 2026: the owner’s page, last updated 22 September 2026, says the sculpture stands in the Vál vineyards and is open 0–24, 365 days a year (Haraszthy) Checked. This is a dated report, not a dated photo: the winery’s own photos of it in Vál carry no capture date and we found no independent dated photo Unconfirmed
Related
- On Street Art Utopia: When Metal Comes Alive (12 Photos) (12 October 2026), where LOVE appears as work no. 11. The same photo first ran in On Burning Man by Alexander Milov – Two adults back to back (12 September 2015).
- Burning Man’s archive of the 2015 event and its Carnival of Mirrors art. Burning Man
- The second, full-size LOVE in Odesa, installed in December 2018. Ukraine Kiev Tour
- Not this work: the “Real Love Sculpture” announced for Burning Man 2026, which the page presents as a return of LOVE in a new form. It is a separate piece, not the original in Vál. Ukraine Kiev Tour
All sources (13)
This work
- Burning Man Project: “2015 Event Archive”. “the standout Love by Ukrainian sculptor Alexander Milov, depicting two wire-frame adults sitting back-to-back”.
- Alexander Milov: “Love” (Rebirth of the Project), the artist’s site milova.net/love as archived by the Wayback Machine on 26 February 2022. Checked 12 October 2026: the live domain milova.net now redirects to an unrelated gambling site, so we link the archived copy. Grant, March 2015 approval, sale to a Hungarian winemaker, August 2017 move, 1 September opening, 2018 full-size copy, fibreglass children.
- Haraszthy Pincészet: “LOVE · Vál” and English version, the owner’s page, published 6 May 2026, updated 22 September 2026. Haraszthy estate in Vál since 2017, 10 × 16 m, open 0–24, free.
- Wikipedia (Hungarian): “Vál”, sights. The Vál love statue by Alexander Milov, shown at Burning Man in 2015, assembled on the Haraszthy estate in 2017.
- Wikipedia: “Love (Milov sculpture)”. Burning Man 2015, Vál 2017, Odesa copy 2018, materials and size.
- Colossal: “Large Wire-Frame Sculpture Shows the Glowing Forms of Children Trapped Within Adult Bodies”, Kate Sierzputowski, 16 September 2015. Title, Milov’s statement, first Ukrainian grant in 30 years.
- My Modern Met: “Burning Man Sculpture Reveals Inner Child Glowing within Giant Wire-Framed Adult Bodies”, Anna Gragert, 16 September 2015.
- Bored Panda: “Powerful Sculpture At Burning Man Shows Inner Children Trapped Inside Adult Bodies”, Dovas, 15 September 2015. Photos by Andrew Miller and others.
- Demilked: “Gripping Sculpture At Burning Man Reveals The Harsh Truth About Adulthood”, 16 September 2015. “the first Ukrainian piece to receive a festival grant in 30 years”.
- Ukraine Kiev Tour: “Sculpture LOVE of Alexander Milov is installed in Odessa”, December 2018. Original installed in Vál on 1 September 2017, with GPS; Odesa copy installed 4 December 2018.
Dated photos
- Haraszthy Pincészet: photo of LOVE at dusk in the Vál vineyards, uploaded June 2026 (upload folder date; no capture date given).
Context
- The Odessa Journal: “Odessa artist: 5 artworks by Alexander Milov”, 13 October 2020. Describes the Odesa LOVE as “this sculpture”.
- LOVE Milov: studio site of Alexander Milov. In Bali since 2022, when he went there to launch a new project.
Artwork File · Last checked 12 October 2026 · Certainty labels follow How We Verify Art · All Artwork Files