Image via Complex Original
Remember when you were a kid, charmed by clowns at birthday parties who could transform a limp piece of latex into a shiny plastic dog? Well, you haven't outgrown your fascination for inflatables just yet.
Today's artist aren't just playing around with this mass-produced medium, affirming that art doesn't need to come from oil on canvas or marble and bronze anymore. Just ask Andy Warhol and Jeff Koons, two artists who have created unforgettable blown-up works. What may come as a surprise is that inflatable art has been around for a long time, stretching back to the 1800s. Now, curators are bringing these pop-able works into galleries and artists are using inflatables for large-scale installations. Check out our list of 30 Awesome Inflatable Art Pieces, and see what people can create out of a little bit of plastic and thin air.
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Hold Your Breath
Hold Your Breath by Mel Ziegler, 2004
This Texas-based artist collected air from former battlegrounds in her home state, including Alamo, Goliad and San Jacinto. Her work materializes the mythological power sites of historical significance (especially sites of death) have over us.
Complex Pile
Complex Pile by Paul McCarthy, 2007
McCarthy is never afraid to gross us out. His new show WS at the Park Avenue Armory features a food orgy that's almost impossible to watch. McCarthy created this 51-foot-high, 110-foot-long inflatable sculpture in Hong Kong, showing that even this smelly subject can be elevated to high art.
The Skywhale
The Skywhale by Patricia Piccinini, 2013
Patricial Piccinini created this massive floating balloon to mark the 100th birthday of the Canberra, the capital of Australia. The artist said she wanted it to be more of a sculpture than balloon. We're not sure how successful she was, but those 10 boobs are certainly eye-catching.
Inflatable Self-Portrait
Inflatable Self-Portrait by Pawel Althamer, 2010
This unique take on a self-portrait floats in the Zacheta Gallery in Bruges, Belgium. In 2007, a version of this work floated over a park in Milan. Such a self-conscious work brings up questions of representation of identity.
Entanglement
Entanglement by Sarah Elizabeth Turner, 2007
This up-and-coming artist created this installation as part of her graduate studies at the University of British Columbia. The work strides the line between the playfulness of white balloons and the chilling connotations of surgeon's gloves.
Tight Spot
Tight Spot by David Byrne, 2011
This artist put the whole world under the High Line in New York. The inflatable globe had speakers inside, therefore during the two weeks it was squeezed beneath the old rail lines, it could be heard projecting messages from the band Talking Heads.
image via
Le Géant, Champ de Mars
Le Géant, Champ de Mars by Nadar (Gaspard-Félix Tournachon), 1863
This artist was the person to make inflatable art, all the way back in 1863! Nadar, we salute you.
The Red Ball Project
The Red Ball Project by Kurt Perschke, 2006-present
This work is an interactive public space project that has moved all around the world. The juxtaposition between the sturdy concrete structure and the inflatable ball creates a feeling of anxiety of the ball's impending pop.
Inflated, Deflated
Inflated, Deflated by Annette Messager, 2005-6
This installation is made by more than 30 over-sized cloth body parts that quiver slightly as if they are at the very end of their lives.
Self-Reproducing Pedestal
Self-Reproducing Pedestal by Andreas Zybach, 2007
This fascinating piece is a study of the biological process of breathing, merging science and art. As viewers walk over the lattices, the work inflates against the pressure.
Somehow I Don't Feel Comfortable
Somehow I Don't Feel Comfortable by Momoyo Torimitsu, 2000
Torimitsu's installation makes for a very uncomfortable experience. With these nightmarish bunnies, the artist explores the tension between reality and perception.
German Panther
German Panther by Hans Hemmert, 2007
Better known as the "balloon tank," this piece was first displayed in Urban Gallery in Germany. This installation makes a weapon of war completely harmless, transforming it into a colorful toy.
Renaissance Pavilion
Renaissance Pavilion by Various Architects, 2009
This inflatable building is a portable and collapsible event arena. It inflates in a little over an hour while simultaneously generating it's own energy. One of our favorite features is that it is 100% recyclable. Watch out world, this is what the buildings of the future look like.
image via
Falling into the Mundane World
Falling into the Mundane World by Tam Wai Ping, 2013
This darkly comical piece aligns humans with the plight of the cockroach.
Sacrilege
Sacrilege by Jeremy Deller, 2012
This inflatable replica of the Stonehenge acts as a moon bounce, rethinking one of the most hallowed sites in history.
House of Treasures
House of Treasures by Cao Fei, 2013
Is this giant suckling pig a celebration of abundance or critique of excess?
Thirst
Thirst by Chad Person, 2010
This New Mexico-based artist has created a quite few inflatable art pieces, they are all social critiques. Here Pegasus, the former Mobil Gasoline mascot, lies dead just like her failed company. Person explores the fact that both resources and icons are all fading away.
Mona Lisa
Mona Lisa by Larry Moss, 2009
This crafty balloon sculptor brings new meanings to classic paintings by recreating them with balloons. From American Gothic to Campbell's Soup Cans he's transformed so much paint to latex. This modern take on the classics is definitely a breath of fresh air.
Balloon Dog
Balloon Dog by Paul McCarthy, 2013
This huge inflatable dog directly references Jeff Koons' metal balloon sculptures. McCarthy's pup presided over the Frieze art fair this spring. To give it even more credibility, it sold for almost 1 million dollars earlier this year.
image via
Breath
Breath by Mark Quinn, 2012
This inflatable sculpture is a replica of an actual statue of Alison Lapper during her pregnancy that Quinn created in 2005. It's touchy subject matter has ushered in criticism. Breath appears next to a famous Palladian church at the Venice Biennale.
Big Air Package
Big Air Package by Christo and Jeanne-Claude, 2010-13
This art project took place at the Gasometer Oberhausen in Germany and is the largest envelope of air ever inflated without a skeleton. It is almost 300 feet tall and more than 250 feet wide.
On Going Octopus Art Attacks in the City of Taipei, Taiwan
On Going Octopus Art Attacks in the City of Taipei, Taiwan by Filthy Luker, 2011/2012
This innovative artist used inflatable octopus to create 'attacks' all over the world. Here, he installs the marine life above a house to create a surreal landscape.
Luminarium
Luminarium by Alan Parkinson, 2012
A group called Architects of Air created giant moon bounces for adults where the focus is on light and color. These delightful installations appeared all over the world.
Untitled Tree
Untitled Tree by Myeongbeom Kim, 2007-11
This Korean artist is all about combining man-made elements with elements from nature. Here a mass-produced object "uproots" the base of the tree.
Emptiness is Form. Form is Emptiness.
Emptiness is Form. Form is Emptiness. by Choi Jeong Hwa, 2013
This artist uses the Buddhist symbol of the lotus to comment on the quickly disappearing spirituality in contemporary China.
Silver Clouds
Silver Clouds by Warhol, 1966
This inflatable installation by Warhol has proven itself to be timeless. It's still installed all over the world even though it debuted over 40 years ago. Possibly a play on the phrase "every cloud has a silver lining," this optimistic mantra takes a sour turn as the balloons being to deflate.
Rabbit
Rabbit by Jeff Koons, 2009
Koons continues to test the boundaries and relationship of pop culture and art with this inflatable duplicate of the stainless steel Rabbit he created in 1986.
With the Wind
With the Wind by Liu Jiakun, 2002
This piece is a lighthearted work created by a Chinese architect that brings together her profession and her culture. Although, as an architect Jiakun works in solid forms, she shows here that she can build covered structures from air.
Pisces
Pisces by Jason Hackenwerth, 2013
This New York artist put more than 10,000 colored balloons together for this piece that represents his version of the legend of Aphrodite and Eros. It rises more than 40 feet tall.
Poetic Cosmos of the Breath
Poetic Cosmos of the Breath by Tomás Saraceno, 2007
The only thing cooler than how this installation looks is how it was made. The artist utilizes the Greenhouse Effect to create this self-inflating structure.