Born in 1943, Brian Ballard studied in his home town at Belfast College of Art and went on to further studies at Liverpool College of Art.

Best known for his contemporary treatment of the traditional genres of the still life, the nude and the landscape, and his distinctive use of bold yet evocative colour, he now works mainly in Belfast and on Inishfree
Island off the coast of Donegal.

Painting directly onto the canvas with vigorous brushstrokes, he uses bold slashes of rich colour in which the bristles always leave their mark of speed and pressure. He strives for balance in his work and his struggle is always centred on a concern to create a subtle harmony of colour and form, a search for the 'structure of a painting' and a desire to entice and lead the eye where he wants it to go. His subjects are always recognisable, but his treatment of them is invariably painterly. He admires artists like Bonnard, Matisse, Picasso, who painted in hard strokes with courage and audacity - this is his way too.

Ballard may paint the same subject several times, a change of light, of weather, another viewpoint, a difference of scale or proportion of canvas being sufficient to prompt another exploration of the theme. The landscapes he paints are often harsh and untamed such as those off the west coast of Ireland.

Ballard is a member of Royal Ulster Academy of Arts. Examples of his work can be found in the collections of the Arts Council of Ireland, Art Council of Northern Ireland, Crawford Municipal Gallery and the Ulster Museum.

Exhibition History

Selected Group Exhibitions:
1967 Butlin Foundation for Young Irish Artists, Arts Council Gallery, Belfast
Duchas Exhibition, Queen's University Gallery
1969 Seven North of Ireland Painters, David Hendrick's Gallery, Dublin
Contemporary Irish Painting, Part Square Gallery, Leeds and Glasgow
1970 David Hendrick's Gallery, Dublin
1971 Art Spectrum, Ulster
1982 Listowel International Biennale III
1989 Images of Mourne, Narrow Water Gallery, Warrenpoint
"Salute to Turner", Thos Agnew & Sons, London
1990 Images from Ireland, Brussels
1995-6 Solomon Gallery, Dublin
1996 Banquet Exhibition, Royal Hibernian Academy
1998 Ansteys Galleries, Harrogate
1999 Art Miami

Solo Exhibitions:
1970 Queen's Gallery, Belfast
1972 Tom Caldwell Gallery, Belfast
1974 Tom Caldwell Gallery, Belfast
1976 Bell Gallery, Belfast
1977 Image Gallery, Dublin
1980 Image Gallery, Dublin
1982 Tom Caldwell Gallery, Belfast
1983 Tom Caldwell Gallery, Belfast
1985 Newry & Mourne Arts Centre
1986 Grafton Gallery, Dublin Main Fine Art, Glasgow
1987 Tom Caldwell Gallery, Belfast
Solomon Gallery, London
Beaux Arts, Bath
1988 Solomon Gallery, London
Kerlin Gallery, Derry
1989 Grafton Gallery, Dublin
Beaux Arts, Bath
1990 Kerlin Gallery, Dublin
Mistral Galleries, London
1991 Beaux Arts, Bath
Kerlin Gallery, Dublin
1992 Waterman Fine Art, London
1993 Cadogan Contemporary, London
1994 Kerlin Gallery, Dublin
Tom Caldwell Gallery, Belfast
1995 Cadogan Contemporary, London
Trist Ann's Gallery, Dundalk
1996 Solomon Gallery, London
1998 Solomon Gallery, London
Cadogan Contemporary, London
1999 Trist Ann's Gallery, Dundalk
2001 The Kenny Gallery, Galway
2003 The Kenny Gallery, Galway
2024 The Kenny Gallery, Galway