Indiana’s LOVE sculptures are bold, totemic, and heroic, embodying not only the poetic essence of the artist’s oeuvre but also a defining moment in American history as one of the most iconic images of the twentieth century. Initially commissioned by the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) as a Christmas card in 1965, Indiana debuted his first LOVE sculpture at his solo show at the Stable Gallery in New York in 1966. 12 inches tall, the sculpture featured stacked pairs of red letters—'L' and italicised 'O' atop 'VE'—realised in hand-cut aluminium. Indiana's first monumental LOVE sculpture, created in 1970 and towering at 144 inches tall, was crafted from Cor-Ten steel and became a landmark in New York City when installed at Fifth Avenue and 60th Street, where it remained until its removal in 2019.

The LOVE motif held profound spiritual significance for Indiana, who was captivated by the numinous and mystical nature of love itself. This simple, vibrant aesthetic captures an optimistic and idealistic celebration of American culture, with Indiana's use of bright, monochrome colours evoking the landscape of his Midwestern upbringing and alluding to the gaudy commercial iconography of 1960s America.

LOVE quickly became synonymous with the 1960s counterculture, capturing the zeitgeist of the Love Generation with its utopian ideals of sex, peace, and love, resonating with youth-led protest movements confronting the harsh realities of war and violence. However, LOVE has transcended its origins in the 1960s and acquired new significance with each passing decade, evolving continuously as a potent cultural emblem. Thus, LOVE surpassed the abstract qualities of its material form to embody the symbolic connotations of the word, with Indiana manifesting the contemporary zeitgeist not just of his time but enduringly into the present and beyond.