Jihan Zencirli

Jihan Zencirli
Born (1985-07-06) July 6, 1985
Seattle, Washington
Known forInstallation, Sculpture, Public Speaking, Creative Direction, Web3
MovementInstallation art, Performance art, Sculpture
AwardsLos Angeles Design Edge Award, London Design Medal

Jihan Zencirli (born July 6, 1985), known professionally as GERONIMO, is a Turkish-American conceptual artist, designer and creative director. She is best known for large-scale public art installations that use balloons and inflatable forms as sculptural materials. The New York Times described her work as “arguably the most recognizable public art installations in the country.”[1] Her practice spans public art, installation, experiential design, creative direction, and cultural strategy.

Beginning in 2011, Zencirli developed a body of work that helped establish balloons as a contemporary artistic medium. Her installations have appeared at museums, cultural institutions, public spaces, festivals, and commercial developments throughout North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. Her work has been featured in publications including The New York Times, Architectural Digest, Wallpaper, Surface, Dezeen, Vogue, and Fast Company.[2]

Career

Around 2010, while serving as Creative Director of The NED Show, a children's character education company, Zencirli began experimenting with oversized balloons left over from a production project. She created a floating balloon installation for a friend's birthday celebration, and photographs of the work led to requests for similar installations. The experience marked the beginning of her artistic practice under the name GERONIMO.[3]

In 2011, Zencirli founded GERONIMO in Los Angeles, developing a body of work that approached balloons not as decorative objects but as sculptural materials for contemporary installation art. Although balloons had previously appeared in contemporary art, Zencirli's practice is considered the first to consistently employ them as the primary material for architectural-scale public installations, contributing to the recognition of balloons as a medium within contemporary installation art.[4]

Her early installations gained international attention through design publications and social media, leading to commissions for museums, cultural institutions, retailers, hospitality groups, and public spaces. Over the following decade, Zencirli became known for creating large-scale, site-specific installations that transformed architecture and civic environments into immersive public artworks.[5]

Working at architectural scale, her installations frequently combine color, movement, and ephemeral materials to encourage public participation while exploring themes of celebration, memory, impermanence, and collective experience. Her work has been exhibited internationally and includes commissions for institutions and organizations including The Broad, New York City Ballet, Rockefeller Center, Greenwich Peninsula in London, Melbourne Design Week, and numerous public art and cultural projects throughout North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia.[6]

Writing in The New York Times, Sandra E. Garcia described Zencirli's work as creating "arguably the most recognizable public art installations in the country." Her installations have since been featured by publications including Architectural Digest, Wallpaper, Surface, Dezeen, Fast Company, Forbes, and Vogue.[7]

Alongside her independent artistic practice, Zencirli has collaborated with organizations across fashion, technology, hospitality, and the performing arts, creating large-scale public installations, immersive environments, and creative campaigns for brands and cultural institutions.[5]

Beginning in the early 2020s, Zencirli expanded her practice beyond public installation into creative direction, digital art, and cultural strategy. She served as Global Strategist for Doodles, where she helped shape the company's creative direction, cultural positioning, experiential programming, strategic partnerships, and global public activations as it evolved from an NFT project into an entertainment and consumer brand. She was succeeded in the company's senior creative leadership by Pharrell Williams, who currently serves as the company's Chief Brand Officer.

In addition to her artistic practice, Zencirli has worked as a creative director and cultural strategist, advising museums, technology companies, hospitality groups, and cultural organizations on public programming, immersive experiences, creative direction, and cultural strategy.

Selected exhibitions and public commissions

Year Project Venue / Institution Location
2016 Anniversary Installation The Broad Los Angeles, California
2017 NYC Pride Installation NYC Pride New York, New York
2018 Art Series New York City Ballet at Lincoln Center New York, New York
2018 Sculpture Residency Pier 17, South Street Seaport New York, New York
2018 David & Gladys Wright House Installation David & Gladys Wright House Phoenix, Arizona
2018 Melbourne Design Week Installations National Gallery of Victoria Melbourne, Australia
2018 London Design Festival Installation London Design Festival London, England
2018 How We Gather NOW Gallery, Greenwich Peninsula London, England
2019 Solari Summer David Yurman / Madison Square Park New York, New York
2019 The Mirrored Forest Downtown Los Angeles Los Angeles, California
2019 Extra Extra Terrestrial The Standard Los Angeles, California
2019 Installation for Salone del Mobile Versace / Salone del Mobile Milan, Italy
2019 The Tide Greenwich Peninsula London, England
2021–present Public Installations Rockefeller Center New York, New York
2022–2023 Public Activations and Installations Doodles International

Exhibition and Performance

In addition to her public art installations, Zencirli has created immersive exhibitions, performances, and interdisciplinary works that combine installation, theater, music, and audience participation.

In 2017, Zencirli created and presented My Grandfather Is the Yogurt Bomber, an immersive theatrical work staged at CBS Studio in Los Angeles. The performance combined storytelling, visual art, and live performance, with contributions from artist James Jean and comedian Ramy Youssef.[8]

In 2018, Zencirli presented Notes to Self, a site-specific installation at The Standard, Downtown LA.[9]

Her image and work has also appeared in advertising campaigns, television, film, and live performance, including projects for Google, Instagram, Mercedes-Benz International, Tampax, General Motors, Airbnb, Square, T-Mobile, Squarespace, and HBO.[10]

Beginning January 2018, Zencirli was invited by New York City Ballet to create signature installations for their annual Art Series. As the first female collaborator selected, Zencirli inflated more than 200,000 compostable, biodegradable balloons in a series of installations and collaborative choreography at the Ballet’s home at Lincoln Center. Previous years' artists included french political artist JR, Dustin Yellin and Marcel Dzama.[3]

In July 2019, on London's Greenwich Peninsula, along the Thames River path, an elevated walkway designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Zencirli installed 25 sculptures along the route, with additional sculptures by British artists Damien Hirst and Allen Jones and Antony Gormley's Quantum Cloud. Yoko Ono's Wish Tree installation coincided as companion to the opening of Zencirli's sculptures.[11]

Public Interventions

Alongside her commissioned installations, Zencirli has created a number of independent public interventions and temporary site-specific works in Los Angeles and elsewhere. Often installed without advance announcement, these projects blur the boundaries between public art, performance, and social commentary.[9]

Among these works are installations for the Hollywood Sunset Free Clinic, the Silver Lake Meadow, the Bates Motel, as well as projects created through Nefarious Frillers, an anonymous collective founded by Zencirli that installed temporary installation works throughout Los Angeles, Istanbul, Paris and Milan.[12]

In 2016, following musician Father John Misty's widely publicized claim that he had stolen a rose quartz crystal from a Moon Juice store in Los Angeles, a 1.5-meter papier-mâché replica of the crystal appeared atop a building in Echo Park bearing the message, "Thank you Father John 4 Freeing Me." Father John Misty later shared an image of the sculpture, writing that the crystal was "free and loving life."[13] The work remained anonymous until 2018, when it was revealed in an interview with New York magazine that Zencirli had fabricated and installed the sculpture on the roof of her studio.[14]

Personal life

Zencirli is twentieth generation Sufi, from the town of her surname, Zencirli, in Konya Province of Turkey, burial place of Rumi.[15]

In Los Angeles, Zencirli owns the mixed-arts studio of Memphis Group founding member, Peter Shire.[16][17]

In the News

In 2017, Zencirli received the Edge award at the L.A. Design Festival for her significant contribution to the L.A.'s Design Culture.[18]

In January 2019, Zencirli was reported to have an estimated net worth of $10,000,000, making her one of the highest earning female artists in the United States.[19]

References

  1. ↑ Garcia, Sandra E. (2018-07-19). "This Artist Wants You to Look Up and Savor a Balloon Rainbow". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-05-31.
  2. ↑ "The Art Of Turning An Eccentric Hobby Into A Full-Fledged Business". Fast Company. 2016-07-18. Archived from the original on 2022-08-13. Retrieved 2026-07-16.
  3. 1 2 Trucco, Terry (17 February 2018). "What Are All Those Balloons at Lincoln Center's Koch Theater?". Playbill. Retrieved 2019-05-31.
  4. ↑ "Best Balloon Artists In Los Angeles". CBS Local. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
  5. 1 2 Simms, Molly. "You've Never Seen Balloons Like This Before". Oprah.com. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
  6. ↑ "Pop Art Custom-made balloons blow up". PureWow. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
  7. ↑ Crook, Phillip. "The Next Big Thing: Geronimo! Balloons". Brides Magazine. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
  8. ↑ "JİHAN ZENCİRLİ". XOXO Digital (in Turkish). Retrieved 2019-07-12.
  9. 1 2 "Notes To Self". Standard Hotels. Retrieved 18 July 2017.
  10. ↑ "2017 EDGE: Jihan Zencirli". Los Angeles Design Festival. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
  11. ↑ "Diller Scofidio + Renfro creating new five-kilometre-long park in London's Greenwich". Dezeen. 2019-05-13. Retrieved 2019-05-31.
  12. ↑ "You've Never Seen Balloons Like This Before". Oprah.com. Archived from the original on 2024-07-16. Retrieved 2026-07-16.
  13. ↑ Paiella, Gabriella (2016-07-26). "The Stolen Moon Juice Crystal Finally Speaks Out". The Cut. Retrieved 2019-07-11.
  14. ↑ Twersky, Carolyn (2018-02-16). "The Woman Who Gave a Voice to the Stolen Moon Juice Crystal Makes Balloon Art". The Cut. Retrieved 2019-07-11.
  15. ↑ "Collector Profile - Jihan Zencirli". Tappan. Retrieved 2021-07-09.
  16. ↑ Agnew, Kelly. "I Quit My Job To Sell Balloons In L.A." Refinery29. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
  17. ↑ Rose, Becca (3 June 2017). "This artist's balloon art installations are making us want to float away with joy". HelloGiggles. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
  18. ↑ Recinos, Eva (22 May 2017). "Meet the Balloon Genius Behind Those Installations You've Been Seeing Around L.A." L.A. Weekly. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
  19. ↑ admin. "Jihan Zencirli - Net Worth, Biography, Birthday, Zodiac 2019!". CELEBS TRENDING TODAY. Retrieved 2019-07-18.
This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.