Kimberly Balla, Dust and ruins, 2021, oil and metallic pigment on panel, 24 x 24 x 1.5 in

Kimberly Balla's work is rooted in experimentation with paint as a chemical and material system, using unconventional mixtures to generate unexpected textures and patterns. Through a process developed over more than thirteen years, she combines traditional oil paint with modern mediums, allowing controlled chemical interactions to produce unique surfaces that feel both accidental and intentional.

Her practice engages an "alchemical" approach to painting, where material transformation mirrors cycles found in nature-building, breaking down, and reforming into new visual structures. These processes result in works that explore themes of emergence, impermanence, and continuity within natural and perceptual systems.

Balla is particularly drawn to recurring symbolic forms such as the circle and ring, which appear across cultures in motifs like halos, mandalas, and the Enso. Influenced in part by ideas associated with Carl Jung and the collective unconscious, she explores the circle as a universal structure of meaning and connection.

Fractals also play a central role in her imagery, reflecting patterns found in nature, mathematics, and systems of scale from micro to macro. Through these forms, her work seeks to evoke a sense of interconnectedness, creating immersive, dreamlike environments that invite viewers into what she describes as a liminal, hypnagogic space of familiarity and wonder.