UPPER EAST SIDE — An exhibit on Manhattan’s Upper East Side is taking balloon art to a whole new level – showcasing balloon sculptures in a playful, immersive and inspiring way.
Maybe its the colors, shapes and sizes… but the bottom line is, the balloons simply make people happy.
“When they get inside a venue like this and see a huge eagle, seven meters made only with balloons, they’re stunned,” said balloon artist Kobi Kalimian.
Kalimian knows a thing or two about the spheres filled with air. A whopping 700,000 of them are now inside the Park Avenue Armory.
Kalimian is a certified balloon artist who has been at it for more than a decade.
“I bought a bag of balloons and a hand pump, started to twist myself,” he said.
Kalimian is the art director of Balloon Story, an exhibition that will make you see balloons in a different light.
Artists from around the world created these large-scale sculptures which will be in place through Aug. 24.
Balloon artist Jeremy Johnston was doing a little maintenance on his trio of very elaborate animals.
“You see how the muzzle is on the giraffe, there are balloons inside of balloons, to give it a different look, it’s called distortion,” he said.
Each section has a different theme: space travel, under the sea, take a trip around the world or play a piano key.
A trick of the trade to keeping balloons plump: blast the air conditioning.
“If you can put a balloon inside a fridge, it can last a year,” Kalimian said.
But what will they do with the balloons at the end? A popping party, of course!
You are invited to come help deflate them. They will be recycled and made into dog toys.