BB, Tadao Cern, 2023. Fifty silver balloons, mirrors, lights.
In 18th-century France, two brothers led pioneering experiments with balloons. Joseph-Michel and Jacques-Étienne Montgolfier eventually invented the Montgolfière-style hot air balloon, which, in 1783, launched the first confirmed piloted ascent by humans. Centuries later, balloon art has inflated in popularity, serving as a highly contemporary and unique medium. Balloon Museum’s new exhibition in Los Angeles brilliantly proves this point.
Titled Let’s Fly, the exhibition brings together more than 20 world-renowned artists specializing in balloon and inflatable art. The exhibition has traveled to several cities around the world, including Madrid, London, New York, Brussels, Paris, and Dusseldorf. Since its launch in Rome in 2021, over 4.4 million visitors have experienced the eye-grabbing installations that Balloon Museum champions.
In its Los Angeles descent, Let’s Fly features artwork that is equally inventive and engaging. Hyperstellar (2023), for example, encourages visitors to immerse themselves in a massive pit filled with black balls, with balloons also dangling from the ceiling like dark stars. The GINJOs (2022) by Rub Kandy presents strange, bulbous characters in different shapes and sizes, providing a pop of humor and intrigue. Karina Smigla-Bobinski’s ADA (2017), in comparison, is a stark helium sphere, but still invites interactivity. The sphere is covered with graphite spikes and, when visitors push it, it wanders the air and creates abstract etchings on adjacent surfaces.
The exhibition also marks the debut of the Balloon Museum’s newest work: Mariposa. Designed by California-based LED artist Christopher Schardt, Mariposa first debuted at Burning Man in 2023 and is illuminated with over 39,000 full-color LEDs. Many other works in Let’s Fly are stunning feats of light as well, such as Sasha Frolova’s inflatable sculpture Fountain of Eternity (2023) and Tadao Cern’s BB (2023).
Each participating artist pushes the limits of balloon and inflatable art, playing with gravity, weight, touch, and air. This includes the works of Filthy Luker, MyeongBeom Kim, Ouchhh, Max Streicher, Sila Sveta, Camila Falsini, and more.
Let’s Fly is now on exhibition through March 16, 2025, at Ace Mission Studios in Los Angeles. Tickets are currently available on the Balloon Museum website.
Balloon Museum’s exhibition Let’s Fly descends in Los Angeles this fall.
Hyperstellar, Hyperstudio, Quiet Ensemble, and Roman Hill, 2023. Immersive installation.
Let’s Fly features artwork from more than 20 artists specializing in balloon and inflatable art.
ADA, Karina Smigla-Bobinski, 2017. Interactive installation.
ZEROS, SpY, 2022. Black inflatable circles.
The exhibition explores themes of gravity, weight, light, touch, and air throughout its unique installations.
AI Dataportal of Atlanta, Ouchhh, 2023. LED screens, mirrors, colored beads.
BB, Tadao Cern, 2023. Fifty silver balloons, mirrors, lights.
Hyperstellar, Hyperstudio, Quiet Ensemble, and Roman Hill, 2023. Immersive installation.
Let’s Fly is open through March 16, 2025, at Ace Mission Studios in Los Angeles.
A Quiet Storm, Quiet Ensemble, 2022. Installation.
The GINJOS, Rub Kandy, 2022. Installation.
Spiritus Sonata, Eness, 2023. Installation.
