Ben Billhardt

Ben Billhardt's painting exists on the border between reality and imagination. In large-format oil paintings, he creates evocative worlds that appear both familiar and otherworldly. Architectural fragments, figures, and landscapes converge in enigmatic compositions, imbued with symbolism and inner tension. With precise technique and a keen sense of light and atmosphere, Billhardt develops a visual language strongly influenced by Surrealism without imitating it. His works address existential questions such as identity, memory, and alienation—and invite quiet reflection. As a representative of a young generation of contemporary painters, he uses classical oil painting to open spaces for the unspoken and the unconscious. His works are poetic, compelling—and linger in the mind.

—Friedrich Riemann

Ben Billhardt was born in Berlin in 2003. After graduating from the Heinz-Berggruen-Gymnasium in 2021, he attended the Berlin School of Art as a student of Andrei Krioukov. From the beginning of 2022, Ben Billhardt completed internships, including with Iris Masson and Michael Haas. Since October 2022, he has been studying painting in the class of Prof. Tilo Baumgärtel at Burg Giebichenstein University of Art and Design in Halle.

2025 Zscheiplitz
2025 Vandalismus Akt, Burg Giebichenstein, Halle
2024 Felt cute might delete later, Galerie Laetitia Gorsy, Leipzig 2024 Gruppenausstellung, Galerie im Volkspark, Halle
2024 Jahresausstellung Burg Giebichenstein, Halle
2023 Gruppenausstellung, Kunstraum Mars, Frankfurt
2023 Jahresausstellung Burg Giebichenstein, Halle
2022 Feels like a hug, Galaxie der Künste, Halle