Larry Halff

 

Larry Halff is a visual artist whose work traces the quiet architecture of perception. Through abstract photographs of built environments, he reveals a world structured not by function or scale, but by sensation—by the rhythm of shadows, the repetition of forms, and the edges where light meets surface. These images reflect his distinctly autistic way of seeing: fragmentary, patterned, and deeply attuned to the underlying structures of sensory experience.

Guided by this perceptual style, Halff uses photography as both expressive medium and assistive technology—a way to filter complexity, focus attention, and translate sensory overwhelm into form. In his hands, the camera becomes a means of making perception visible and shareable, inviting viewers to slow down, look closely, and reconsider how place is perceived, constructed, and felt.

Raised in Arlington, Virginia by two cognitive research psychologists, Halff picked up a camera at age seven to bridge the distance he felt from his surroundings. That early gesture—of reaching for structure through framing—became the foundation of his practice. Drawn to systems and the patterns that bind them, he studied Sociology and Cultural Anthropology in college, then worked on the development of video ethnographic software in graduate school. The same impulse to understand how people connect and communicate led him to early work in social software in the 2000s, and eventually to a full-time engagement with visual art.

After 30 years on the West Coast, he returned to Arlington in 2022, where he now lives with his husband, Randy, and their rescue dog, Betty.

Exhibitions

2021 FAVA’s Juried Biennial Photography Show, Architecture Award, FAVA Gallery, Oberlin, OH
2021 Architecture, New York Center for Photographic Art, New York, NY
2021 Members' Juried Exhibition, Center for Photographic Art, Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA
2021 Art in the Time of Corona, Vol. 2, DAB Art, Los Angeles, CA
2021 Exposure: Architectural, ArtGym Denver, CO

Education

The University of British Columbia, Master of Arts (Honors), Curriculum Studies at the Multimedia Ethnographic Research Lab, Vancouver, BC, Canada (1993 - 1996)

Earlham College, Bachelor of Arts (Honors), Sociology/Anthropology, Richmond, IN, USA (1988 - 1992)