Art that breathes.

Lewis deSoto’s Paranirvana is a 26-foot long sculpture influenced by the artist’s engagement with Buddhism. The sculpture depicts a figure reclining on its right side; based on a stone Buddha in Sri Lanka. Unlike its solid stone predecessor, deSoto’s work, made from painted polyethylene cloth, is hollow, filled only by air from a fan that keeps the sculpture inflated (like a jumpy house).
From afar, deSoto’s inflatable Buddha looks like stone. Up close, creases in the seams of the cloth are evident. Also, the sculpture makes noise—a hum emanates from the fan inflating it. deSoto purposely added sound. In Buddhism, a mindful breath is an essential part of practice