About

Oliver Ballon is a Bristol-based artist whose works focus on extruding fantastical narratives out of largely traditional subject matter, resembling a stoic magical realism, of traditional still-life compositions and raunchy abstraction.

Influenced by late-stage abstract graffiti, the psychedelic 1960s California and Japan, and mid-century abstract expressionism. Many of the compositions are color schemes and forms merged and abstracted from mundane sources like vintage furniture catalogues and random items found on the street. Whilst others are taken from the artist’s domestic living spaces and placed into an entirely new visual lexicon, giving more meaning and a sense of narrative around them.

The primary focus of this endeavor is to manipulate reality and craft novel narratives. By transforming the mundane into a more twisted vision of the ordinary, the endeavor pushes the boundaries of what is expected and refined.

The resulting experiences sometimes play more towards humor than towards the seriousness of the traditional subject matter at hand. Flowers, fruit, and landscapes, always held as traditional and easy-to-follow subject matter, are mutated into intense and often graphic departures from expectation.