Mia Babalis, submitted artwork
Mia Babalis
Painting, Sculpture, Installation
Santa Monica, CA
I am a Los Angeles-based artist living and working in Santa Monica, CA. My practice spans painting, sculpture, video, and installation. Before transitioning to visual art, I had a long career as a modern dancer in New York, performing with the Alvin Ailey Repertory Ensemble, Ballet Hispanico of New York, the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company, and Mikhail Baryshnikov’s White Oak Dance Project. I hold a BFA from Otis College of Art and Design.
Works
Mia Babalis, submitted artwork
My background in performance shapes my artistic approach, where movement, light, sound, and materiality intersect in immersive installations to create dynamic environments. The paintings and sculptures I create derive from these projects. In exploring the ever-shifting nature of life, I was drawn to the concept of Lazarus taxa—species that, after being presumed extinct, suddenly reappear after long periods of absence. Does anything truly vanish, or does it simply await reemergence in a new form? This idea resonates with the experience of restaging choreography—where new performers inhabit the same roles, breathing fresh life into familiar structures. Like a species evolving through replication, each iteration carries something unique, shaped by time and context. How permanent is anything? How does the past appear in the present, and the present shape the future? This ambiguity compels me, and creating art is a way of engaging with these experiences—a process of resurfacing, transformation, and renewal.
