For Immediate Release: March 7, 2022

The City of Alexandria will unveil its newest public art installation, “I Love You,” in Alexandria’s Waterfront Park (1 Prince St.) on March 25. This new temporary installation by Roberto Behar and Rosario Marquardt of R&R STUDIOS is the fourth in the “Site See: New Views in Old Town” annual public art series. The installation will be on display through November 2022, and accessible from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.

Commissioned to create an original installation for the location, Behar and Marquardt focused on the community-building possibilities of public art. “I Love You” captures the public’s imagination in a celebration of friendship and camaraderie in the heart of Alexandria.

The installation features the words “I Love You” illuminated in pink neon lights. Mounted 15 feet high, the scripted letters will bathe visitors in a soft pink hue. Below, a hand-painted ground mural of a pink and white carpet will define the space as an open room welcoming everyone. The unexpected and luminous social space will invite visitors to get lost for a few moments in this fictional realm.

“‘I Love You’ provides physical evidence of the possibility of the fantastic as part of everyday life,” according to R&R STUDIOS. “It is an instant landmark that brings people together with a simultaneously universal and personal message.”

The “Site See: New Views in Old Town” temporary public art series highlights Waterfront Park as a civic space. This installation follows Mark Reigelman’s 2021 “Groundswell,” Olalekan Jeyifous’ 2020 “Wrought, Knit, Labors, Legacies,” and SOFTlab’s 2019 “Mirror Mirror.” 

R&R STUDIOS was selected to create this site-specific artwork by a community task force with approval from the Alexandria Commission for the Arts. Installation will begin March 9. The City will also work with regional artists for public space activations that respond to “I Love You” later this year.

Visit alexandriava.gov/PublicArt for more information about the “I Love You” public art installation and the Site See public art series. Join the conversation online using #siteseeALX.

For inquiries from the news media only, contact Andrea Blackford, Editorial Communications Manager, at andrea.blackford@alexandriava.gov or 703.746.3959.

For reasonable disability accommodation, contact arts@alexandriava.gov or call 703.746.5590, Virginia Relay 711.

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This news release is available at alexandriava.gov/go/3390.