James Allen b. Lurgan, Co. Armagh, Northern Ireland, 1941, studied at Belfast College of Art and Brighton College of Art.

Recent solo exhibitions include Wellspring Gallery, Tralee (2004) and Cavehill Gallery, Belfast (2002). Group shows include: ‘Four Now’, Glucksman Gallery, Cork, (2005) and ‘Across Boundaries’, Office of Public Works touring exhibition, Ireland (2005).

Allen’s work is included in the collections of the Arts Councils of Great Britain, Northern Ireland and Ireland; National Self-Portrait Collection, Limerick University; Office of Public Works, Dublin; Queen’s University of Belfast and Telfair Museum, Savannah, Georgia, USA among others.