By Darlene Donloe
Contributing Writer
LOS ANGELES — Of all the attractions in Los Angeles to grab your attention, one of the newest may be the oddest as well.
A pop-up art installation called Balloon Museum, with the theme “Let’s Fly — Art Has No Limits,” is on display at Ace Mission Studios east of downtown Los Angeles through March 16. The studio previously housed the amusement park Luna Luna.
This is much more than an exhibition of hot-air balloon art.
The Balloon Museum, described as “a place where magic comes alive at every turn,” is a ground-breaking exhibition that brings together monumental inflatable artworks by renowned international artists.
The 90-minute experience transforms the way art is encountered, inviting visitors to explore a vibrant, sensory world of touch, sight and sound.
The museum, which has 21 artworks, opens with a walk through artist Camila Falsini’s garden, “DREAMS,” a series of oversized inflatable shapes, symbols and igloos meant to evoke a dreamlike city inspired by pop art and the Memphis Group.
ENESS’ “Spiritus Sonata” features hallucinogenic, elephant-balloon hybrids. “Hyperstellar,” from Hyperstudio with Quiet Ensemble and Roman Hill, evokes musings about the cosmos. At the same time, “The Ginjos,” by Rub Kandy, is an intense space in the museum filled with strange, Minion-like inflatable creatures.
Artist Max Streicher’s “Quadriga” stages massive billowing horses that call to mind wingless Pegasi the way they seem to gallop through the air.
“Mariposa,” the museum’s newest work by Oakland-based LED artist Christopher Schardt, features a massive flapping butterfly powered by a swinging bench and illuminated by more than 39,000 full-color lights. The plush beanbags are the room’s most balloon-like, airy element, on which guests are encouraged to recline and relax. “Mariposa” blends light, sound and movement into a symphony.
The works, created specially for the LA “Let’s Fly” exhibition, are striped, spotted and shaped like doughnuts. They light up in the night sky like condensed, dirigible versions of Ugo Rondinone’s “Seven Magic Mountains” sculpture.
One of the most popular exhibits is the massive Olympic pool-sized ball pit that hosts intermittent light shows in which additional balls and spotlights descend from the bulbous ceiling.
Each installation offers a playful and interactive journey from Cyril Lancelin’s brilliant labyrinth to Motorefisico’s bouncy spheres and Sasha Frolova’s kaleidoscopic fountain.
In the final corridor, eight jewel-toned cubicles are staged with props, including a balloon-filled phone booth, a massive headless gummy bear, a cloudscape, L.A.-ready angel signs, and other poppy backdrops for individual photo experiences.
This rare exhibition pushes artistic boundaries, blending creativity and freedom in a memorable sensory adventure through innovative, inflatable art.
Artists include Eness, Atelier Sisu, Filthy Luker, Camilla Falsini, Hyperstudio, Karina Smigla-Bobinski, Alex Schweder, Cyril Lancelin, Christopher Schardt, Max Streicher, Mauro Pace, Ouchhh, Sasha Frolova, Rub Kandy, Michael Shaw, Motorefisico, Quiet Ensemble, Roman Hill, Myeongbeom Kim, Spy, Sila Sveta and Tadao Cern.
While a balloon is a flexible membrane bag inflated with helium, nitrous oxide, oxygen, hydrogen or air, each artist goes beyond that concept by presenting avant-garde interpretations of inflatable and distinctive balloon art.
The exhibit is a format created by a curatorial team that designs and realizes contemporary art exhibitions with specific works in which “air” is a distinctive element. The show is based on lightness and flight. It investigates the opposition between heaviness, darkness and gravity in contrast with light, weightlessness and hovering that could be expressed in the artworks.
It is a journey through out-of-scale installations with unexpected shapes in which the interaction with viewers is placed at the center of the experience.
Many installations include innovative and imaginative artworks that push the boundaries of balloon and inflatable art.
Art one can touch, live with, and share, never static, creates an innovative relationship with the user, giving life to an experiential socialization path.
Founded in Rome in 2020, the award-winning contemporary art museum has welcomed more than 44 million visitors in cities across the globe, including Paris, London, Madrid, New York, Milan, Miami and Atlanta. Each iteration is informed by the culture of the city hosting it, with air as the sole central medium.
Visitors are advised that some installations may not be suitable for individuals with epilepsy, balance disorders or sensory sensitivities due to strobe lights, moving images and sounds. Special assistance is available. Ear defenders are provided for children sensitive to sound.
The Balloon Museum is located at 1601 E. 6th St., east of downtown. It is open from 1 to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday.
Ticket prices vary at the museum is a cashless venue. For information, visit losangeles@balloonmuseum.world.
Darlene Donloe is a freelance reporter for Wave Newspapers who covers South Los Angeles. She can be reached at ddonloe@gmail.com.
