"Somehow I Don’t Feel Comfortable" exhibit. Artist Momoyo Torimitsu (Supplied photo)
The internationally celebrated Balloon Museum will present its acclaimed exhibition EmotionAir | Art You Can Feel at The Fields Studios in Chicago from October 30, through April 6, 2026. This immersive showcase brings together large-scale inflatable artworks by renowned international artists, offering visitors a sensory experience that explores how creativity connects to emotion.
"10 AGOSTO" exhibit. Artist HYPERSTUDIO (BALLOON MUSEUM photo)
“Balloon Museum was created as a response to a changing world, grounded in the belief that the innocence of childhood can evolve into art that uplifts and inspires,” said Roberto Fantauzzi, CEO of Lux Entertainment. “As we open in Chicago, we’re eager to share this vision, one that brings joy, wonder, and connection to audiences everywhere.”
"PLAYGROUND LOVE" exhibit by artist Michela Picchi. (Balloon Museum photo by Danilo D'Auria)
EmotionAir transforms art into a mirror of human feeling, illustrating how sensation, action, and reaction intertwine. From Cyril Lancelin’s unsettling Cube Abyss to Alex Schweder’s kinetic Aeroton, each installation reveals an emotional landscape that reflects the depth of human experience.
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Since debuting in 2021, Balloon Museum’s exhibitions have drawn more than seven million visitors across four groundbreaking showcases, Pop Air, Let’s Fly, EmotionAir, and Euphoria. This global contemporary art project is the first dedicated entirely to inflatable works, with air itself as the creative medium. Its installations have appeared in major cities including London, Paris, Rome, Barcelona, Miami, San Francisco, New York, and Singapore.
The Chicago edition will take place at The Fields Studios, Gate 1, 2828 North Pulaski Rd. Tickets and more information are available at chicago.balloonmuseum.world.
Participating artists include Alex Schweder, whose Aeroton invites visitors into a shifting labyrinth of soft, moving fabric; AnotherView, whose Skyscape#1 transforms windows into a dreamlike panorama of Cappadocia; and Cyril Lancelin, whose Cube Abyss immerses guests in a geometric maze of light and shadow. ENESS presents Airship Orchestra, a sound-and-light experience where illuminated forms seem to breathe and sing. Jason Wilsher-Mills’ The Argonaut celebrates disabled communities through monumental, symbolic imagery, while Michela Picchi’s Playground Love bursts with color and nostalgic whimsy.
Miranda Makaroff’s Synchronized Chaos reflects on self-awareness through a vivid corridor of faces, and Momoyo Torimitsu’s oversized rabbit Somehow I Don’t Feel Comfortable critiques cultural expectations of cuteness. Motomichi Nakamura’s Cannonballs contrasts playfulness with menace, while MOTOREFISICO’s Swing invites participants to move and interact with suspended spheres that respond to motion. Rub Kandy’s The GINJOS radiate joy through surreal, faceless figures, and Thom Kubli’s Black Hole Horizon fuses sound, bubbles, and chance to evoke cosmic wonder.
Karina Smigla-Bobinski contributes ADA, a floating sphere that draws charcoal patterns in response to movement, and Kaleidoscope, an evolving play of color and projection. Hyperstudio (Italy) presents a trio of works: Invisible Ballet, a dance of particles made with Mauro Pace; Hyperfeeling, a luminous multisensory exploration of emotion with Sila Sveta and Kissmiklos; and 10 Agosto, a kinetic tribute to the Night of San Lorenzo created with Elena Raimondi, where visitors swing, wish, and watch light swirl like stardust.






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