The latest museum exhibition to feature a mammoth balloon sculpture is Play: Toys Reimagined as Art. Featuring the detailed work of New York balloon artist Jason Hackenwerth, the exhibition runs until February 2018.
The exhibition highlights six artists who use toy materials – from crayons to building blocks to balloons – to create installations, videos and sculptures for ‘the kid in all of us’.
Jason makes elaborate sculptures out of latex balloons, many of which typically come to life in the form of a giant bedbug known as the Megamite. The first sculpture he created for this exhibition was an interactive piece named Quadropus, featuring over 5,000 balloons. This was replaced in November with a new interactive piece named Inner Observatory.
By examining these highly interactive and engaging artworks, Play focuses on the similarities between how children and adults experience various playful habits of invention, such as curiosity, imagination and problem solving. From playfulness to mathematical strategy, the artists in Play create experiences that invite the viewer to interact, enjoy and reflect on the nature of wonder and delight in art.
The exhibition is being held at the Taubman Museum of Art and is generously supported in part by the City of Roanoke through its Arts Commission.
