ARTISTS | Kate Ballis
Kate Ballis is a Melbourne-based photographic artist whose work explores the theme of seeing the unseen. Her colour-drenched images of utopian landscapes use infra-red technology to isolate colours within the spectrum to bring a unique understanding of a particular place. Referencing ancient mythology and feminist icons, her work explores places and spirits of the otherworld, making them seem even more foreign than the earth we know.
Kate’s work has been exhibited in solo and group shows in Melbourne, Sydney, Los Angeles, Palm Springs, Miami, and at art fairs across Europe. Her work has featured in Aesthetica, AnOther, Wallpaper, Vogue Living, VICE, Forbes among others.

Exhibitions:
Sydney Contemporary 2021 | Explore
Gallerysmith Presents Kate Ballis, Dadang Christanto, Fiona Hiscock, Susanne Kerr, Waldemar Kolbusz and Catherine Nelson at Sydney Contemporary Explore 2021.
2020(REAR)VISION
I AM WOMAN | A Group Exhibition for International Women’s Day 2021
Infra Realism: Lilac Lux | Kate Ballis
Sydney Contemporary presents 2020…
Liminality | Kate Ballis
CV:
KATE BALLIS
born 1985, lives Melbourne
Solo Exhibitions
2022
Atlantis, Gallerysmith, Melbourne, VIC (upcoming)
Wonderworld, David Jones Gallery, Sydney, NSW
2021
Infra Realism: Lilac Lux, Gallerysmith, Melbourne, VIC
2020
Liminality (virtual exhibition), Gallerysmith, Melbourne, VIC
Hyperphantasia, Arthouse Gallery, Sydney, NSW
2019
Palm Springs Art Fair, Palm Springs, USA
Spectrums of the Galapagos, Jardan, VIC
Affordable Art Fair, ARTITLED Contemporary, London, UK
2018
Hypercolour Fantasy: Infra Realism, Garis and Hahn, Los Angeles, USA
Pulse Miami Art Fair, Garis and Hahn, Miami, USA
2017
Glace Noir, Black Eye Gallery, NSW
Infra Realism, Jardan, VIC
Group Exhibitions and Fairs
2022
Kings School Art Prize, Finalist, The King’s School, Parramatta, NSW
2021
Hundreds and Thousands, Arthouse Gallery, Sydney, NSW
Going Home, Hugo Michell Gallery, Adelaide, SA
Coming Home, Arthouse Gallery, Sydney, NSW
fresh eyes: reimagining robin boyd’s walsh street’, Melbourne Design Week
PAN Amsterdam, RAI Amsterdam exhibition centre, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Bowness Photography Award, Monash Gallery of Art, Melbourne
Not Fair, Melbourne, curated by Ashley Crawford and Sam Leach
Summer Salon, Arthouse Gallery, Sydney, NSW
2020
Sydney Contemporary presents 2020 (virtual art fair)
Head on at 107, Head On photo Festival, curated by Sandy Edwards, Redfern, NSW
RE(NEW)AL, Arthouse Gallery, Sydney, NSW
Summer Show, Arthouse Gallery, Sydney, NSW
2019
Illusions, Backwoods Gallery, VIC
London Art Fair, London, UK
Art Karlsruhe, Germany
KunstRAI, The Netherlands
CCP Photo Fair, Centre for Contemporary Photography, Melbourne, VIC
2018
London Art Fair, London, UK
AAF Brussels, Belgium
AAF Hampstead, London, UK
Affordable Art Fair, ARTITLED Contemporary, London, UK
KunstRAI, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Art The Hague, The Netherlands
AAF Battersea, London, UK Art House Collective, Jardan, VIC
2017
Straight Lines, Black Eye Gallery, NSW
Art The Hague, The Netherlands
AAF Battersea, London, UK
Commissions
2020 Shot and Edited on iPhone, Torres del Paine National Park, Apple USA.
2018 Nicholas Building Tenants, City Square Metro Tunnel, Melbourne, VIC
Collections
Artbank
Parliament House Art Collection
Bibliography
2021 Lekka Angelopoulou, Sofia, ‘Architectural photographers reimagine robin boyd’s iconic modernist house in Melbourne’, Designboom, April 3, 2021
2020 ‘Hyperphantasia: a trip through the California desert – in pictures’, The Guardian, 15 February
2019 ‘Tired of Intellectualising Everything? This Photographer Is’, The Design Files, 26 March
2019 ‘Spectrums of the Galapagos’ Photography Exhibition by Kate Ballis’, Yellowtrace, 8 April
2018 Infra Realism, Manuscript Publishing
2018 Gibson, Eleanor ‘Kate Ballis’ infrared photography displays California modernism in vivid hues’, 20 February
2018 Pitcher, Laura, ‘Photographer Kate Ballis Makes your Palm Springs Vacation Photos look Basic’, iD/ Vice Magazine, 20 June
2018 Klingelfuss, Jessica, ‘Kate Ballis’ candy-coloured dreamscapes hit the sweet spot in Los Angeles’, Wallpaper, 28 July
2018 Carter, Felicity, ‘Kate Ballis Showcases a Hypercolor Fantasy in her Latest Exhibition, Infra Realism’, Forbes, 4 August
2018 Sara Tardiff, ‘You’ll Never Look at Iconic Palm Springs Architecture the Same Way’, Architectural Digest Magazine, 21 August
2018 Carolan, Nicholas, ‘The Pink Print’, Grazia
2018 ‘Infra Realism: deserts saturated with colour in pictures’, The Guardian, 16 October
2017 ‘First look: This Melbourne-based photographer has captured one of the world’s most beautiful natural attractions’, Vogue Australia, 27 June
2017 Murrell, Elle, ‘Kate Ballis’, The Design Files, 19 June
2017 Lawson, Kate, ‘In her Candy Colored Dreams’, The September Issues
2017 Black, Holly, ‘Reimagining Californian Landscapes through Infrared’, Another Magazine, 26 July
2017 ‘Hyper-real Perspectives’, Aesthetica Magazine, 30 July
News:
KATE BALLIS ARTIST PROFILE + Q&A
Kate Ballis is a Melbourne-based photographic artist whose work explores the theme of seeing the unseen. Her colour-drenched artworks employ infra-red technology…