American, b. 1958

Brad Ellis is a mid-career, Texas-based artist whose focus is on abstract painting. Throughout his career he has continually experimented with imagery from tightly rendered, systematic patterns to loosely constructed, expressionistic compositions. He has distinguished himself by embracing the ancient medium of encaustic which is hot wax painting and is a process by which heated bees wax is mixed with pigments and applied to board or canvas and then fused to the surface with a heat source. The pure physicality of the paint combined with various collage elements render distinct textures and surface treatments that energize his abstract imagery with movement and excitement.

Brad earned his BFA from the University of Tulsa and his work is represented by several art galleries across the country. His paintings are included in many prominent private and corporate art collections and is included in the U. S. State Department’s Art In Embassies Program, where his work is displayed in the Ambassador’s residence in Kampala, Uganda. As well, his paintings are featured in two recent books, Texas Abstract, Modern + Contemporary, published by Fresco Books and Encaustic Art In The Twenty-First Century, published by Schiffer.

"Brad Ellis's paintings convey the reinterpretation of experience. His work brims with hot, unadulterated hues that gives his tropical palette a vigorous workout. He relies on elaborate, asymmetrical armatures to deliver his eye fructose, establishing intricate cross rhythms and dissonant irregularities." — Peter Frank, Art Critic & Curator

Craighead Green Gallery, Dallas, TX

Sandler Hudson Gallery, Atlanta, GA

Erdreich White Fine Art, Boston, MA

M. A. Doran Gallery, Tulsa, OK

Santa Fe Editions, Santa Fe, NM

ARTERRA, Bellevue, WA

2022 Towards A 21st Century Abstraction, Longview Museum of Fine Art, Curated by Peter Frank, Longview, TX

2022 Congruence / Confluence: Lines In Space And Time, M. A. Doran Gallery, Tulsa, OK

2022 One On One: Together, Janette Kennedy Gallery, Dallas, TX, curated by Bonny Leibowitz

2022 Towards A 21st Century Abstraction, San Angelo Museum of Fine Art, Curated by Peter Frank, San Angelo, TX

2021    Towards A 21st Century Abstraction, Coos Bay Museum of Art, Curated by Peter Frank, Coos Bay, OR

2021    Towards A 21st Century Abstraction, Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum of Art, Curated by Peter Frank, Santa Barbara, CA

2021    Wax Applications: Showcasing the Depth and Breadth of Encaustic and Cold Wax Mediums, Curated by Jane Cornish Smith, Texas A&M University - Commerce, TX

2021    Annual Gallery Artists Exhibition, Craighead Green Gallery, Dallas, TX

2020    Annual Gallery Artists Exhibition, Craighead Green Gallery, Dallas, TX

2019    Spring Group Show, Russell Collection, Austin, TX

2019    Annual Gallery Artists Exhibition, Craighead Green Gallery, Dallas, TX

2019    Six Local Artists, Russell Collection, Austin, TX

2019    The Languages of Abstraction, M. A. Doran Gallery, Tulsa, OK

2018    Annual Gallery Artists Exhibition, Craighead Green Gallery, Dallas, TX

2017    A Celebration Of Color, Bath House Cultural Center, Dallas, TX (curator Susan Verhelst)

2017    Annual Gallery Artists Exhibition, Craighead Green Gallery, Dallas, TX

2016    Annual Gallery Artists Exhibition, Craighead Green Gallery, Dallas, TX 

2015    Abstractly, M. A. Doran Gallery, Tulsa, OK      

2015    Texas Abstract: Modern & Contemporary, Galveston Arts Center, Galveston, TX

2015    Color Play:  Primacy of Color in Contemporary Art, Lew Allen Contemporary, Santa Fe, NM

2015    Texas Abstract: Modern & Contemporary, Sonja Roesch Gallery, Houston, TX

2014    Texas Abstract: Modern & Contemporary, Wade Wilson Gallery, Santa Fe, NM

2014    Red Dot, Blue Star Contemporary, San Antonio, TX

2012    From Realism to Abstraction, Lew Allen Contemporary, Scottsdale, AZ

2012    Annual Gallery Artists Exhibition, Craighead Green Gallery, Dallas, TX

2012    Art By Southwest, Lisa Russell Collection, Austin, TX

2011    Gallery Artists, Rosenbaum Contemporary, Boca Raton, FL

2011    Best of Texas, Russell Collection, Austin, TX

2011    Collections, Cultures and Collaborations: Inspirations from The Neiman Marcus Collection, University of North Texas Art Gallery, Denton, TX

2010    Surface, M. A. Doran Gallery, Tulsa, OK

2010    Contemporary Forum, Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix, AZ

2010    Annual Gallery Artists Exhibition, Craighead Green Gallery, Dallas, TX

2009    Survey of Texas Art, Wichita Falls Museum of Art, Wichita Falls, TX

2009    Stimulate, Craighead Green Gallery, Dallas, TX

2008    All Inclusive: A Group Exhibition, Craighead Green Gallery, Dallas, TX

2007    First Bloom: Dialogues in Exuberance, Victoria Price Contemporary Gallery, Santa Fe, NM

2006    25th Anniversary Show, Mary Bell Gallery, Chicago, IL

2006    Gallery Artists: Fall Exhibition, Viveza Gallery, Seattle, WA

2006    Annual Members Show, Dallas Center for Contemporary Art, Dallas, TX

2005    New Gallery Space Celebration, Craighead Green Gallery, Dallas, TX

2004    5 x 7, Arthouse, Austin, TX

2003    2003 Gallery Invitational, Cervini Haas Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ

2003    New Work by Gallery Artists, Mary Bell Gallery, Chicago, IL

2003    5 x 7, Dunn and Brown Contemporary Art, Dallas, TX

2002    Surface Tensions, Galveston Arts Center, Galveston, TX (Curator, Clint Willour)

2002    Refrigerated Air, D Berman Gallery, Austin, TX

2002    One Wish, The Dallas Center For Contemporary Art, Dallas, TX

2001    The Mac’s bi-Annual Juried Exhibition, McKinney Avenue Contemporary, Dallas, TX
(Juror: Annette Carlozzi, Curator of American & Contemporary Art at the Blanton Museum of Art, Austin, TX)

2000    Critic’s Choice Juried Exhibition, Dallas Visual Art Center, Dallas, TX (Juror: Steve Nash, Executive Director, Palm Springs Art Museum, Winner: Best of Show Award)

1999    A Fresh Look at Texas Art: Juried Exhibition, McKinney Avenue Contemporary, Dallas, TX, (Juror: Terrie Sultan, Director of the Corcoran Gallery, Washington DC)

1999    New Artists Show, Mary Bell Gallery, Chicago, IL

1999    Beau Arts Show, Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, TX

1999    Tongues of Fire: Juried Competition, Biblical Arts Center, Dallas, TX

1999    Off The Page, McKinney Avenue Contemporary, Dallas, TX

1998    New Artists Show, Craighead Green Gallery, Dallas, TX

1998    Madness at the Mac, McKinney Avenue Contemporary, Dallas, TX

1998    Annual Members Show, Dallas Visual Arts Center, Dallas, TX

1997    Neiman Marcus 90th Anniversary Show, Neiman Marcus, Dallas, TX

1997    Annual Members Show, Dallas Visual Arts Center

1996    Art Prospects: A New Beginning, LaJolla Art Gallery, LaJolla, CA

1996    Annual Members Show, Dallas Visual Arts Center, Dallas, TX

1994    Exquisite Corps, McKinney Avenue Contemporary, Dallas, TX

1994    Eleutheria, Trammell Crow Gallery, Dallas, TX

1994    Six Decades of Art: TU Alumni, The University of Tulsa, Tulsa, OK

1994    Annual Members Show, Dallas Visual Arts Center, Dallas, TX

1994    The 500X Open Show: Juried Exhibition, 500X Gallery, Dallas, TX (Juror: Nancy Whitenack, Owner, Conduit Gallery, Dallas, TX, Winner: Best of Show Award)

1992    The 500X Open Show, 500X Gallery, Dallas, TX

1991    A Decade in Deep Ellum, Art Bar, Dallas, TX

Select Publications

2022 Encaustic Arts Magazine, Volume 17, Issue 2

2021 Studio Visit, Volume 50

2016    Encaustic Art In The Twenty-First Century, published by Schiffer

2014    Texas Abstract: Modern + Contemporary, published by Fresco Books

Honors

2019    Facebook Artist in Residence, Austin, TX

2016    U.S. State Department’s Art In Embassies Program, Kampala, Uganda

Education

The University of Tulsa, Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree, 1984