How Penique Productions Transformed a Tribeca Basement into a Pink Wonderland

Barcelona-based art collective Penique Productions unveils its latest immersive installation Basement today as part of Inflation, the inaugural exhibition at The Locker Room’s new Tribeca gallery in New York. Known for their site-specific inflatable environments that reimagine architectural spaces – including Rio de Janeiro’s Parque Lage Visual Art School, Louis Vuitton’s Spring/Summer 2024 runway at Paris Fashion Week, and Palm Heights’ artist residency campus in Grand Cayman – Penique continues to challenge perceptions of form, function, and sensory experience through enveloping colour.

Founded in 2007 by Sergi Arbusà while studying at the Universitat de Barcelona, Penique Productions began as a classroom experiment – and a bit of serendipity. “Christo and Jeanne-Claude came to our university in May that year. I met them, saw their work, and was deeply inspired,” Arbusà recalls. “That September, for a class project, I created an inflatable that filled the entire room. After turning off the fan and stepping inside, I realised that if I restarted the fan while inside, the structure wouldn’t collapse. It was then I discovered something more compelling than simply occupying a space – I could transform it. That shift in perspective is what gave birth to Penique Productions.”

Now, nearly two decades later, the collective has brought its philosophy to New York with Basement, a site-specific installation housed in the subterranean level of 253 Church Street. The piece consists of a pink inflatable that fully shrouds the gallery’s basement architecture, rendering the space both abstract and familiar. “The piece is an inflatable that responds directly to the architecture of the gallery’s lower level,” Penique explains. “We don’t tell the audience how they should feel; instead, we want them to know that this work is shaped by the space itself – its layout, its context, its atmosphere. The expanded object is contained by the very place it inhabits. The space becomes the artwork.”

While the location was relatively straightforward in terms of size, the installation still posed interesting technical challenges. “It’s a small, indoor space, which helped. But the presence of columns, pipes, and the fire sprinkler system added complexity and made the installation more demanding,” they noted. The colour choice – Penique’s signature monochrome – is never arbitrary. “The colour always emerges from the space, its context and surroundings. Sometimes the decision comes easily and naturally, sometimes it requires more reflection. But it always comes from the dialogue with the site.”

Penique continue: “We aim to create an aesthetic experience that invites visitors to reflect and engage. What we love about our installations – perhaps because of their simplicity and vibrant materiality – is that they resonate with all kinds of people. Whether you’re an art world veteran or someone stepping into a gallery for the first time, we want our work to speak to you.”

Inflation runs from 6 May to 1 June 2025 at The Locker Room, 253 Church Street, New York. The group show also features works by DJ Morrow, Pneuhaus, Robert Moy, Marguerite Wibaux, and Colleen Comer. Gallery hours are Wednesday through Sunday, with an opening reception tonight from 7-9pm.



Feature image: Penique Productions, Basement, 2025. Courtesy Penique Productions