Join Max Adrian, the artist behind RIPSTOP, and HCCC Curator + Exhibitions Director Sarah Darro for an intimate tour of Adrian’s motion-activated inflatable sculptures. These monumentally-scaled, handsewn pieces transport viewers into a realm of artifice, desire, and utopian worldbuilding. This talk will delve into Adrian’s wide ranging creative influences, from queer fiber art and game theory, to camp horror films and puppetry, as well as his background working in a commercial mascot shop. The tour will also address the historic connections between inflatable design and utopianism.

About Max Adrian
Max Adrian (he/they) is a textile artist interested in ideas about queerness, desire, and consumerism. His soft-sculptural practice finds inspiration in a variety of sewing-related crafts like quilting, bag making, inflatables, puppetry, drag, and fetish wear. Adrian employs an evocative aesthetic of bold colors and tactile materials that tease expectations of pleasure. His work envisions a postmodern playscape, where bodies and objects are blurred, asking how the things humans desire impact a sense of personal identity and community building.

Adrian holds a BFA in fiber and creative writing from the Kansas City Art Institute, as well as an MFA in fiber and material studies from the Tyler School of Art and Architecture. He has worked professionally as a puppeteer, a mascot costume stitcher, and a production artist at Otherworld, an immersive art experience. Adrian was a 2022 Career Advancement Fellow and a 2015 Windgate Fellow with the Center for Craft. His practice has been supported by a variety of residencies including Vermont Studio Center, Lighthouse Works, Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, and Millay Arts. He is based in Columbus, Ohio.