Huge Inflatable Heads Exhibit Opens Saturday At Michener Museum

DOYLESTOWN, PA — A truly one-of-a-kind exhibit opens Saturday at the Michener Museum in Doyelstown. Large-scale inflatable sculptures of heads, part of an international exhibit, will be on view during a multimedia experience titled "The Janis Project."

The works are created by artist Frank Hyder, who has become known for working across a variety of media.

The sculptures are inspired by the Moai of Easter Island, the Olmec heads, and the ancient Roman god of new endeavors, according to information from the museum. They present two faces with two distinct skin colors and a unique adornment of face paint. A series of watercolors documenting the public’s response to these heads as the exhibition traveled the world is also part of the exhibit.

“With The Janis Project, I intended to engage people with art in surprising places,” Hyder said. “Monumental sculpture is usually found in clearly designated public spaces and museums; my installations are random and almost always surprising. Toy-like yet carrying meaning, the heads are at once disarming while also evoking humor and wonder. They are sculpture, they are paintings, they are culture.”

The exhibit has traveled the entire coast of Europe form Istanbul to St. Petersburg, including the British Isles. It continues to travel the world with a growing number of sculptures.

The exhibit will be on view through Feb. 23. An artist lecture event with Hyder is scheduled for Nov. 29 at 1 p.m.

Hyder's paintings and sculptures have been widely exhibited in venues such as the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art’s Museum of American Art, the Carnegie Museum in California, the La Salle Museum of Art in Philadelphia, and the National Museum of Catholic Art and History in New York, among others.

Hyder has also created several public art works, including three murals through the City of Philadelphia’s Mural Arts Program: Hanging Garden of I-95, Honey’s Garden, and Bell’s Pond.

Click here for more information on the exhibit.

The Michener Museum is located at 138 S. Pine St, Doylestown.

Image courtesy of Frank Hyder.