BIO

 

Shawn Teseo Ballarin is an artist, curator, and musician based in Lincoln, Nebraska. His work spans printmaking, painting, photography, and video, exploring the space where sound, image, composition, and improvisation intersect.

 

He is represented by Modern Arts Midtown and the Lux Center for the Arts. Ballarin is the founder of Heavier Than Air, an experimental ensemble that integrates video, movement, and sound, presenting work in both gallery and performance contexts; their most recent performance was at the Joslyn Castle in Omaha.

His recent exhibitions include a solo show, Goodbye to Language, at Concordia University, Honorable Mention in printmaking for the 2025 1516 Biennial, and a print featured in the c9: Contemporary Printmaking exhibition at the Daum Museum of Contemporary Art. He has also curated exhibitions at Turbine Flats in Lincoln and at the Joslyn Castle Carriage House in Omaha (Ancient, Mythic, Heroic, presented in conjunction with Opera Omaha’s Hercules).

STATEMENT

I think of my work as a series of formal experiments grounded in pleasure and aesthetics. My approach allows for improvisation and surprise, much like when I’m recording music. I enjoy observing how the different layers interact when combined and how unexpected moments emerge through the process. My prints often explore the tension between control and chance, structure and fluidity. I’m interested in how patterns evolve, collide, or fall apart — moments that echo the complexity of navigating daily life. My process is intuitive and responsive, often shaped by the materials at hand and the physicality of making.