Born in Belfast in 1943 and trained at the College of Art in Belfast and Liverpool, Brian balances his time in Belfast with that at his retreat on the Donegal island of Inishfree.

His contemporary approach to painting alternates between figurative treatment of nudes, landscape and expressionistic still life, all of which he practices in equal measure and intensity. His work can be found in many collections including The Arts Council of Ireland, A.I.B., Crawford Municipal Gallery Cork, The Ulster Museum, The National Trust, Waterford Wedgewood PLC and Irish Rock Legends U2.

His work is emotional, intuitive and expressive, yet firmly portrays the subject before him. Each canvas possesses a strength of intimacy and immediacy that prompts quiet admiration from the viewer. Every individual painting is a timeless chronicle of found objects, the human figure or the natural world. Captured elements are marshalled into an order chosen by the artist and then crystallised to offer a creative impression of a familiar subject. Brian Ballard’s work is marked by purity of expression and fidelity to nature as he witnesses it.

- Marianne O'Kane

SELECT GROUP EXHIBITIONS

1967 Butlin Foundation for Young Irish Artists, Arts Council Gallery, Belfast.
Duchas Exhibition, Queens University Gallery.
1970 David Hendrick's Gallery, Dublin.
1971 Art Spectrum, Ulster.
1980 Image Gallery, Dublin
1982 Listowel International Biennale III
1982 Tom Caldwell Gallery, Belfast
1986 Grafton Gallery, Dublin
1986 Main Fine Art, Glasgow
1987,88 Solomon Gallery, London
1988,90,91 Kerlin Gallery, Dublin
1989,91 Beaux-Arts, Bath
1990 "Salute to Turner", Thos Agnew & Sons Ltd, London
1990 Images from Ireland, Brussels
1990 Mistral Galleries, London
1992 Waterman Fine Art, London.
1993 Cadogan Contemporary, London
1994 Kerlin Gallery, Dublin
1994 Tom Caldwell Gallery, Belfast
1996 Banquet Exhibition, Royal Hibernian
1996 Academy of Arts, Dublin
1996 Cadogan Contemporary, London
1996 Solomon Gallery, Dublin
1997 Adam Gallery, Armagh
1998 Art Miami, Solomon Gallery
1998 Solo Exhibition, Cadogan Contemporary, London
1998 Summer Show, Cadogan Contemporary, London
1999 New Year Exhibition, Cado