Jules de Balincourt’s vivid paintings of public spaces play with reality

Paris-born, Brooklyn-based artist Jules de Balincourt’s paintings are vivid and sprawling with colour as he explores public places like gardens, swimming pools and campsites. These kinds of spaces have been the subject of Jules’ work for several years now and when we featured him back in 2013 his images were like painted snapshots of his travels.

For his most recent works, the artist is still taking us to seemingly new and unexplored lands, but he’s more playful with colour, pushing it to more vibrant and sumptuous hues that remove his landscapes from reality. Cascading waters and expanses of luscious, green grass remind us of warmer months and there’s a sense of escapism when looking at Jules’ work.

The obvious markings and brushstrokes give each painting an energy and zest to the relatively still and quiet scenes he depicts. There’s less detail in these pictures than before, with Jules simply painting loose impressions of figures and objects. This is at the heart of his approach, which is concerned with conveying movement and atmosphere rather than portraying the nitty-gritty.