Overview

• The six-meter, multicolored balloon is installed outside Kunsthaus Minsk in Potsdam and will be on view through October 13.
• Munich artist Katharina Gaenssler realized the work, titled “Up,” after winning a Kunst am Bau competition.
• The reconstruction draws on documentary cut drawings and fabric analyses to match the original balloon’s colors, scale and materials such as umbrella silk, taffeta and bedsheets.
• The unveiling comes ahead of Germany’s October 3 observance marking 35 years of unity.
• Director Anna Schneider describes the piece as both homage and a prompt for civic reflection, with children’s activities, October film screenings and a plan to recycle the envelope into a mobile seating sculpture after closing.