Louise Wallace

Louise Wallace is a Lecturer in Fine & Applied Art:Painting at Belfast School of Art, Ulster University. She is an active artist, writer, and educator based in Belfast, with a significant exhibition history both nationally and internationally. Her work has been shown at prestigious venues including Fenderesky Gallery in Belfast, Rua Red Gallery in Dublin, Soho20 Gallery in New York, and Siemens Art Space in Beijing.

• Bachelor in Fine Art (2002)
• PhD in Painting (2006)
• Post-graduate Certificate in Higher Education (2010)
• Post-graduate Certificate in Education (2006)
• L.L.B. from Queens University Belfast (1994)

Wallace's research focuses on contemporary painting practices with particular attention to Irish landscape painting, feminist perspectives, and Surrealism. Her work deliberately engages with themes of desire, excess, and the feminine, often transforming suburban landscapes into scenes that hover between the familiar and the uncanny. She utilizes a palette of lush color to create provocative images that draw on both abstraction and Surrealism. Her practice is improvisational, where one move generates the next across painting, drawing, and assemblages. She has developed a significant body of work exploring the intersection of place, identity, and artistic expression in Northern Ireland.

Her recent publications and exhibitions reveal a consistent focus on feminist perspectives in art history, particularly examining women painters in Northern Ireland. The 'Midnight Feast' series represents a significant development in her work, exploring nocturnal landscapes of Belfast housing estates through a feminist lens that challenges traditional Irish landscape painting. Her articles demonstrate strong engagement with both contemporary practice and historical analysis, particularly in her examination of Pierre Bonnard's work and her contributions to understanding Catherine McWilliams' artistic legacy.

• Oil Award, Jackson's Art Prize (2024)
• Shortlisted for BEEP Painting Prize (2022)
• Longlisted for John Moore's Painting Prize (2020)
• British Airways Student Award (2001)
• Multiple Arts Council of Northern Ireland 'Support for the Individual Artist Programme' awards (2006, 2008, 2022)

Wallace has secured significant research funding including Arts and Humanities Research Council funding (2023, 2024) for projects focused on recovering women painters' voices in Northern Ireland. She co-curated 'Penumbra,' a survey of contemporary Irish female painting, and is currently co-curating a retrospective of Catherine McWilliams' work. Her collaborative projects like 'IAA IMPROVE- Gender in Northern Irish Art' and 'IAA - Uncovered - female visibility in NI art' demonstrate her commitment to advancing gender equality in the arts. Wallace also engages in meaningful public discourse through events like 'In Conversation' with poet Sinead Morrisey, exploring connections between artistic practices and the Northern Irish context.

Wallace maintains an active studio practice where she extends the compositional space of painting through three-dimensional objects and installations. Her exhibition 'Midnight Feast' featured not only paintings but also wall pieces like 'Fabulous Birds,' which explores color and form using found and fabricated objects. This interdisciplinary approach characterizes her research methodology, treating the exhibition space as an extension of her studio practice.