Balarama Heller
Balarama Heller (b. 1979, New York) received his BFA from the Art Institute of Boston. He worked at Magnum Photos NY before joining the U.S. Merchant Marines where he crewed ocean-going tugboats. Thereafter, Heller lived in Istanbul, photographing long-form projects concerning ritual and transcendence in Eastern Europe and the Middle East. Heller resettled in New York City in 2010. Recent group shows include Maelstrom, at 303 Gallery, New York, You Can't Win, Jack Black's America curated by Randy Kennedy at Fortnight Institue, What's Outside the Window at ReadingRoom, Melbourne AU, Agnes B New York, New Artists at Red Hook Labs and the 2015 Aperture Summer Open. In 2014, he published his first artist book, Into and Through. Zero at the Bone received 1st place for the 2017 Center Awards Editor’s Choice and runner-up for the 2017 Aperture Portfolio Prize. Balarama’s practice reimagines archetypal symbols found in the natural world.
