Kate Ballis’ candy-coloured dreamscapes hit the sweet spot in Los Angeles
Kate Ballis’ otherworldly infrared photographs of Palm Springs first caught our eye last autumn when we met the artist in the desert resort city, where she was working on the next instalment of her series Infra Realism. The Melbourne-based photographer has turned her lens on southern California for the past couple of years, conjuring phantasmagorical visions of modernist architecture, desert landscapes, swimming pools, and vintage cars.
Now, these bewitching images are having a homecoming of sorts, as Ballis makes her US debut with her first solo exhibition, ‘Hypercolour Fantasy: Infra Realism’, at Los Angeles gallery Garis & Hahn. Ballis credits Richard Mosse’s groundbreaking show at the 2013 Venice Biennale among her inspirations, but there’s no doubt she’s cast her own spell over infrared photography as her project has developed.
Shot with a specially converted full-spectrum mirrorless Sony camera using various infrared filters, the artist reimagines iconic Palm Springs locations and mid-century houses – the Ace Hotel & Swim Club and Liberace’s former home included – as a dreamlike fantasy world. Succulents and palm trees are depicted in vibrant hues of blue, skies are a deep magenta, and swimming pools a ferocious blood-red.
Beyond Palm Springs, Infra Realism has taken Ballis to Arizona’s Sedona desert, Joshua Tree, and Los Angeles – the latter’s John Lautner-designed Sheats Goldstein Residence takes on a particularly ominous quality in infrared. Deserts, too, lend themselves well to the artist’s candy-coloured vision. ‘I was hesitant to take my infrared camera [to Sedona desert],’ explains Ballis. ‘For some reason I had imagined it to be an arid desert with no foliage, but was surprised to see it was a thriving valley full of twisted juniper trees, oaks and pines.’
Ballis has exhibited at Sydney’s Black Eye Gallery and at art fairs across Europe. The artist will release a book for her Infra Realism series with Australian publisher Manuscript in November. Watch this space.
INFORMATION
‘Hypercolour Fantasy: Infra Realism’ is on view until 20 October. For more information, visit the Garis & Hahn website and Kate Ballis’ website
ADDRESS
Garis & Hahn
1820 Industrial Street
Los Angeles CA 90021
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox
-
The moments fashion met art at the 60th Venice Biennale
The best fashion moments at the 2024 Venice Biennale, with happenings from Dior, Golden Goose, Balenciaga, Burberry and more
By Jack Moss Published
-
Crispin at Studio Voltaire, in Clapham, is a feast for all the senses
New restaurant Crispin at Studio Voltaire is the latest opening from the brains behind Bistro Freddie and Bar Crispin, with interiors by Jermaine Gallagher
By Billie Brand Published
-
Vivienne Westwood’s personal wardrobe goes up for sale in landmark Christie’s auction
The proceeds of ’Vivienne Westwood: The Personal Collection’, running this June, will go to the charitable causes she championed during her lifetime
By Jack Moss Published
-
The cosmos meets art history in Vivian Greven’s New York exhibition
Vivian Greven’s ‘When the Sun Hits the Moon’, at Perrotin in New York City, is the artist’s first solo exhibition in the USA
By Emily McDermott Published
-
Detroit Institute of Arts celebrates Black cinema
‘Regeneration: Black Cinema 1898-1971’ at the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) brings lost or forgotten films, filmmakers and performers to a contemporary audience
By Anne Soward Published
-
Jean-Michel Basquiat’s LA-made work goes on show at Gagosian
‘Made on Market Street’ at Gagosian in Beverly Hills is the first show to present works made by the young artist between 1982 and 1984
By Hunter Drohojowska-Philp Published
-
BLUM marks 30 years of Japanese contemporary art in America
BLUM will take ‘Thirty Years: Written with a Splash of Blood’ to its New York space in September 2024, continuing its celebration of Japanese contemporary art in America
By Timothy Anscombe-Bell Published
-
Todd Gray’s sculptural photography collages defy dimension, linearity and narrative
In Todd Gray’s New York exhibition, he revisits his 40-year archive, fragmented into elaborated frames that open doors for new readings
By Osman Can Yerebakan Published
-
Frieze LA 2024 guide: the art, gossip and buzz
Our Frieze LA 2024 guide includes everything you need to know and see in and around the fair
By Renée Reizman Published
-
New York artist Christopher Astley showcases an alternative natural world
At Martos Gallery in New York, Christopher Astley’s paintings evoke an alternative natural world and the chaos of warfare (until 16 March 2024)
By Tianna Williams Published
-
The Whitney plots Harold Cohen’s artistic AI adventures
‘Harold Cohen: AARON’, at the Whitney Museum of American Art celebrates the artist’s software – the earliest AI program for artmaking – as an artwork in its own right
By Hannah Silver Published