The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum

Installed on the Museum's front lawn adjacent to Main Street, John Giglio's BlowHomes (Phase One) is an inflatable, one-third-scale sculpture based on the Victorian house located directly next to the Museum. Constructed from heavy-duty vinyl-laminated fabric, it simplifies the complex architecture of the house, rendering details with both paint and silk-screen printing. Phase two of the project, which the artist will complete through the winter, will be two more inflatable sculptures based on other homes on Main Street. The two new BlowHomes will appear along with the original version in April, creating a new mini development in Ridgefield's historic district. Giglio's tongue-in-cheek sculpture raises issues about architectural preservation, historical recreation, and land development. BlowHomes are both fragile and impermanent, recalling the old adage that a home is more than sticks and mortar.