Jaime Hayon’s first retrospective at the Center del Carme
The Valencia Community Museums Consortium expanded its exhibition program throughout February, weaving together a vibrant arc of contemporary art across the Valencian community. In Elche and Alicante, city centers joined the schedule to present the latest acquisitions and loaned works curated by the autonomous region’s cultural institutions. This initiative, launched in 2017 by the Ministry of Culture, continues to showcase 129 works drawn from the Generalitat Valenciana collection, highlighting the region’s commitment to nurturing local creators and sharing their output with a broader public.
Elche will host the finale of the Generalitat Valenciana contemporary art cycle, a journey that began with a major opening at the Valencia Carme Center last May. The forthcoming event is set for September 21, with venues L’Escorxador and Llotja hosting a program that features 19 works acquired in 2021. These pieces come from artists connected to the Community, including Ricardo Cases, Rosalía Banet, María Dolores Mulá, Perceval Graells, Clara Sánchez Sala, and Eduardo Infante. The lineup reflects a mix of established figures and emerging voices who have ties to Alicante, illustrating the region’s ongoing dialogue between local production and museum presentation.
Alicante will also stage the previous edition of the Generalitat Valenciana contemporary art cycle, a show funded by 2020 initiatives that gathered a substantial collection of 37 works. This edition emphasizes illustration and documentary photography, with notable inclusions from the Miguel Calatayud and Paul Auladellin national awards, alongside Juan Carlos Nadal’s photography. The lineup further features the DimasIA collective (Diana Lozano and Alvaro Jaén), Elena Aguilera, Iluminada García Torres, Jesús Herrera, M Reme Silvestre, Nuria Fuster, and Silvia Sempere Ripoll, among others. The spectrum presented underscores the region’s breadth—from intimate, experimental pieces to larger-format works that speak to a wider audience.
The Center del Carme in Valencia will host Jaime Hayon: Infinite Mind, a landmark retrospective that marks the first major survey of the designer’s work in Spain. This show belongs to the official World Design Capital Valencia 2022 calendar and unfolds in two distinct spaces, the Ferreres and Goerlich rooms of the CCCC, from September 22 to April 16, 2023. The curatorial team highlights Hayon’s enduring influence on contemporary design, blending sculpture, furniture, and installation to reveal the throughlines of his creative journey.
Presented and produced by the Valencian Community Consortium of Museums in collaboration with the Center del Carme, the exhibition traces the professional arc of a designer and creator who has been recognized with the National Design Award in 2021 and who is acknowledged internationally for shaping contemporary visual culture. The show offers visitors an immersive experience that connects innovative design with a broader artistic ecosystem in Valencia and beyond, inviting reflection on how design can function as both art and everyday object. The program situates Hayon’s work within a regional narrative of cultural production, celebrating the local scene while engaging audiences with globally resonant themes and techniques. In this sense, the retrospective becomes a touchstone for understanding how contemporary design intersects with contemporary art, architecture, and craft in the Valencian community and in the wider European context.