Niels Ballemans

“Niels Ballemans creates art that emerges from his intimate perception of the world around him. Spectators of his work can revel in a feast of form and histrionic color, and, through Ballemans’ art, meet an artist who portrays the cultural imprints of society in a vulnerable, yet explicit manner.”
— Manus Groenen, art critic

Niels Ballemans is a Dutch artist whose paintings move between figuration and abstraction, combining expressive gestures, fragments of language and layered imagery. His work develops through close observation of people, animals, landscapes and everyday situations, often focusing on presence, character and the tension between fragility and energy.

Rather than following a fixed composition, Ballemans approaches painting as an open process in which improvisation and intuition play a central role. Images appear, shift and disappear again through overpainting, repetition and spontaneous decisions made during the act of painting itself.

He works primarily with acrylic and oil paint, combining directness and rawness with quieter and more detailed layers. The paintings remain open-ended, allowing narrative and abstraction to coexist without becoming illustrative.

Alongside his studio practice, Ballemans is co-found...

2006 - 2009 - Hogeschool voor de Kunsten, BA Fine Arts and education, Tilburg, NL

2008 - Erasmus program, Facultad de Bellas Artes, Granada, ES

2003 - 2005 - Design Academy Eindhoven, Propedeuse, Eindhoven, NL

1997 - 2001 - St.Lucas, Design post-secondary college, Boxtel, NL

Exhibitions & Awards

2025 — Winner of the Kunstloc Brabant art commission De Kunstopdracht
2025 — Honorable Mention, The Dutch Portrait Prize, Zeist, NL
2025 — Het Portret, The Dutch Portrait Prize, Zeist, NL

2023 — Vierkantje, IDFX, Breda, NL
2023 — Museum De Looierij, Dongen, NL

2020–2026 — Yearly exhibitions within the residency program of Vrouw Muskens, Dongen, NL

2020–2021 — MOYA – Museum Of Young Art, Oosterhout, NL

2020 — Solo exhibition, Martin van Blerk Gallery, Antwerp, BE
2020 — DNK, Dorst, NL

2019–2020 — Residency Work with Nature, San Miguel, Costa Rica

2019 — Solo exhibition, Studio 68, Antwerp, BE
2019 — Het Atelier, Studio 68, BE

2018 — First Art Fair Amsterdam, represented by De Galerie Den Haag, NL
2018 — Biennale Vught, Van Loon Galleries, Vught, NL

2017 — In the Mix, De Galerie Den Haag, NL

2016 — Q-Pop, Antwerp, BE
2016 — Biennale Veghel, Van Loon Galleries, Veghel, NL
2016 — Biennale Vught, Van Loon Galleries, Vught, NL

2013 — KABLAM, Nieuwe Vorst, Tilburg, NL

2012 — Van Alaert tot Zessen, BKKC, Tilburg, NL
2012 — Incubate Open Source Expo, Tilburg, NL
2012 — Howlin’ Wolf, Tilburg, NL
2012 — LEF, Museum De Looierij, Dongen, NL

2011 — Incubate Open Source Expo: Lost Painters, Tilburg, NL
2011 —...