About Larisse Hall
Larisse Hall fuses the ethereal quality of light with the materiality of paint and form, using light—our most primal time tool—as both medium and temporal reference. Her work explores everyday societal nuances through this unique lens.
A full-time arts practitioner since 2008, Hall was recently awarded a Special Prize in the Arte Laguna Prize (Venice, Italy) 16th Edition 21/22, winning an artist residency with final exhibition at Espronceda, Barcelona, Spain. Details: artelagunaprize.com/16-edition-21-22/winners-21-22.
Based in Nelson, New Zealand, Hall became captivated by light and its potential for colour and energy when she exhibited her first light installation in 2014. After a year of experimentation, she produced her first successful light-infused 'painting'. That same year, her light sculpture 'Flirt' was longlisted for the Aesthetica Art Prize, England (2015). In 2018, her work was selected as a finalist for international digital exhibitions at Art Takes SOHO 2018 (See.Me) and Art Takes Miami 2018 (Scope See.Me).
Acknowledging time as our most precious commodity, Hall combines traditional painting and sculptural techniques with the science and colour of physical light to produce works that live and breathe, transforming over time.
Hall's painting practice has developed significantly since 2008, when she left her full-time position in the fashion industry to pursue art. These two worlds remain intrinsically intertwined, each feeding her practice. Once asked to separate her artist self from her creative being, she realized that each inspires the other—together they make her whole.
Always environmentally conscious, her art and classes encourage sustainability. Combined with her organic approach to her garden and life, this supports the whakataukī:
'Manaaki whenua, manaaki tangata, haere whakamua' – 'Care for the land, care for the people, so we may go forward.'
Featuring: Smell The Roses…
Encapsulating the ethereal quality of light, our most primal time ‘tool’, Hall endorses time as our most precious commodity. Seductively non-existent by day, her her light infused paintings smudge life in a blur of importance. Tugging gently at our awareness they reveal themselves with time. Celebrating the essence of life and asserting the need to make time, for all that is essential.
Featuring: Lemonade
‘When life hands you lemons, make lemonade.’ Captivated by the power and energy of optimism, Hall creates an almost tangible experience from the intangible expectation of a positive outcome. Combining the ethereal quality of light, with the materiality of paint and form. Hall extends the definition of optimism into the world of the actual. Presenting this elusive emotive state as a tangible experience. The interplay, between the evident and the subliminal, the spoken and the intuitive, is articulated through light and colour and permeates her work. Enticing the audience to step inside 'optimism' and experience it as an actual energy that positively enhances the disposition of the viewer.
'The optimist sees the rose and not its thorns; the pessimist stares at the thorns, oblivious of the rose.' - Kahlil Gibran
Featuring: Innuendo…
Exploring the duality of conversation, Hall contemplates interpretation and assumption. Acknowledging the subtle nuances of language versus body language. Our reaction / interpretation being a respondent to many underlying and often subtle factors. Such as tone of voice and / or body language. By implication we may consider a statement either positive or negative. Acknowledging this, Hall subtly integrates actual physical light into her painted works. Empowering the painted colour. Suggestive of and reflecting the multiple layers / vibrations within conversation.
Contact Larisse
Interested in working together? Want to order a custom piece or book a class? Fill out some info and Larisse will be in touch shortly.