Blow Up: Inflatable Contemporary Art features artists who use air as a sculptural medium. While inflatable objects are typically associated with advertising, children’s entertainment or holiday decorations, the format has been appropriated by a diverse group of artists to explore complex subjects such as identity, materialism and war. Playing with scale, color and the inherent light-heartedness of balloons, the selected artists produce a wide variety of sculptural forms from Lewis deSoto’s sleeping Buddha to Claire Ashley’s colorful abstract shapes. This traveling exhibition includes major works by Claire Ashley (Chicago), Lewis deSoto (Napa), Patrick Flibotte (New York), Billie Grace Lynn (Miami), Guy Overfelt (San Francisco), Momoyo Torimitsu (Tokyo) and Christo and Jean-Claude.

Blow Up: Inflatable Contemporary Art was organized by Carrie Lederer, Curator of Exhibitions, Bedford Gallery, Lesher Center for the Arts, Walnut Creek, CA.

This exhibition was made possible by grants from The National Endowment for the Arts and The City of Elmhurst Community Grant Program.