But while Scarpa and Marcelis’ creations encourage a soft, sinking, seating experience, there’s one designer turning the bubble trend on its head. South Korean artist, Seungjin Yang, makes candy-colored, bulbous chairs, stools and benches with a twist — his pieces are made out of actual blow-up balloons. Since graduating in 2013 from Hongik University in Seoul, Yang’s main design endeavor has been fashioning sturdy, structurally sound furniture from the rubber party favors.
The chairs are architecturally sound and “cannot be burst,” Yang says. Credit: Courtesy Seungjin Yang
Each furnishing takes around two weeks to create, and Yang says they “cannot be burst” thanks to a special coating of epoxy resin. “My work is glossy when it’s completed,” Yang told CNN over email. “Some people think (the finished product) won’t be hard, but it is hard.”
Balloons are inflated and then molded into various shapes to form each part of the design. For example, a stool has 3 “legs” and a longer balloon is made into a spiral shape for the seat. Colored resin is applied in layers; with more coats needed in order to make the delicate material strong enough to carry weight. Once all the elements are dry and solid, the furniture is assembled and dipped into the resin one final time.
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Yang’s pieces are created using a combination of inflatable balloons and epoxy resin. Credit: Courtesy Seungjin Yang
The artist is currently planning to exhibit for Design Miami this November and hopes to hold a solo show in New York early next year. He is also looking to push the limits of balloon design further yet with bigger pieces down the line, like making a two-person sofa.
See the gallery above for a look at the artist’s on-going “Blowing” series.
