Alex Da Corte has resurrected his inflatable sculpture "Kermit the Frog, Even" for Art Basel Paris, displayed at Place Vendôme through October 26. The work references the 1991 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade incident where the Kermit float was deflated by a lamppost or tree, leaving its head sagging. Da Corte first debuted the piece in Buenos Aires in 2018 for the Art Basel Cities exhibition curated by Cecilia Alemani. The artist, known for mining children's media like Mr. Rogers and Sesame Street, also activated the sculpture with performers for the first time in Paris, navigating wind and rain during the performance.
This matters because Da Corte's work connects a moment of pop culture failure—Kermit's deflation—to broader themes of disappointment and resilience, using a universally recognized character to comment on the human condition. The piece also engages with art history, referencing Paul McCarthy's deflated "Tree" at the same location in 2014. By staging the work at Art Basel Paris, one of the world's premier art fairs, Da Corte brings a playful yet poignant critique of spectacle and vulnerability to a high-profile contemporary art audience.