Many artists have used inflatables, from Paul McCarthy and Andy Warhol to Jeff Koons and Christo. It’s a medium that has been growing for years, and artists are only getting more and more creative with it.
We put together a list of artists on Instagram whose recent work focuses primarily on inflatable art. Also see Geronimo, who is currently collaborating with New York City Ballet!
Kuehnle’s site-specific sculptures breathe new life into any space in which he exhibits. His intentionally playful works are often large-scale, in an attempt to engage viewers with their environment and overwhelm their senses.
Badessi’s inflatable works often completely envelop his viewers, who can walk inside or throughout the sculptures. He has used plastic bags and wraps to construct installations that are intended to take over his viewers’ senses as he plays with space, light and material.
Nancy Davidson’s monumental inflatable sculptures engulf a room with its boldness, and often its size, while also strips down the sculpture’s subject with its form. With inflated weather balloons, Davidson tackles topics of feminine beauty, pop culture and sexuality with a comedic but confident wink.
4. Filthy Luker
Filthy Luker is an inflatable street artist whose whimsical public artworks pop up in the form of eyeballs in trees, octopuses invading buildings and fish swimming in the sky. He infuses humor into urban environments, forcing his unsuspecting viewers to see the world in a new way.
Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman’s installations often take the form of playful animals that live in unexpected environments, such as a hippo in London’s Thames River, a family of swans in Seoul, or the world’s largest rubber duck in Chile.
Photographer Charles Petillon invades spaces, sometimes literally, with bundles of white balloons. A stream of balloons take over and explode out of, everything from a rusted old car or basketball hoop to everyday landscapes like the sand on a beach or an ethereal forest. The balloons double as a metaphor that successfully address timely topics related to the chosen environments and settings in Petillon’s work.
top image // Charles Petillon
