In his new body of work Moving Landscapes at Victoria Miro in London, the Brooklyn-based Jules de Balincourt continues his exploration of painting as an intuitive process, resulting in fantasy-like worlds in which landscapes and seascapes become sites of possibility and escape.
Jules de Balincourt’s paintings are states of mind rather than descriptions of reality. Rather than rely on sketch, photography, or direct reference, the artist’s process initially involves him building up many translucent layers of paint, working from abstraction into a figurative depiction. In these ambiguous, evocative spaces, where figures seem to be in perpetual motion, one senses the movement of an ever-changing, volatile world. At times, landscapes and figures start to break down into more abstract imagery, retaining figurative elements that allude to meditation or escape from our reality. —Bob Nickas