Room Filled with Huge, Red Balloons in Chinatown That'll Cheer You Up

Let's be honest with ourselves: this week has dragged on longer than any in recent memory. October and November disappeared pretty quickly, and it looked like it was going to be Christmas before we even knew what to do with ourselves.

Then Monday brought us to our knees, and the rest of the week has been clutching to the sides of our legs while we try and pull ourselves back up. Yeah. It's been rough.

But until Saturday, Turner Prize-winning British artist, Martin Creed can... lighten the mood for you.

His exhibit, "Work No. 2592," on "display" at Gavin Brown's Enterprise in Chinatown, is a huge room filled with hundreds of huge, red balloons that you can play with for, well, until you're happy.

Ball pits are cool and all, but we know how gross a kid's play-place might be beneath all of the balls.

Factor in the potential grossness of grown adults, well, let's just say that Creed's latest balloon exhibit (apparently he's done quite a few) adds much needed levity to that supposed nightmare.

Not to take the air out of all the fun you're already imagining yourself having, but to give some context to these exhibits, Creed subtitles them: "Half the air in a given space."

[anad]

What does that mean exactly? Well, like any abstraction, it could be some metaphor for the space we take up as opposed to the space we allow for needed interaction. Who knows? They're bright, red balloons. They could mean anything. Or nothing. Or something.

Check out some of these shots from the exhibit, and then head down to Gavin Brown at 291 Grand Street (on the corner of Eldridge Street) open until Saturday, December 19th. Have a ball-oon from 12 p.m. until 6 p.m., and cheer yourself up.