Untitled (Lake)

'de Balincourt's folk-art-cum-genius approach to painting offers a free-for-all licence for his witty and apocalyptic social commentary. His attenuate formalism belies his sly knowingness, adding a layered complexity to his satirical narratives. Using the qualities of Outsider art as a synonym for the American values, his 'amateurish' style replicates the heritage of grassroots enthusiasm and democratic freedom'(P. Ellis, USA TODAY. New American Art from The Saatchi Gallery, London 2006, p. 35).

In Untitled (Lake), de Balincourt has created a picture perfect lake-side beach scene recalling the idealized imagery of classic 1950's travel posters, luring us in as viewers with the promises of escapist paradise. Against the backdrop of the lake is the postcard-pretty micro-world replete with boats, swimmers and sunbathers, the perfect accoutrements for the life of leisure that we see playing itself out across the surface.
'Jules de Balincourt's paintings and sculptures both espouse and critique superpower culture. Born in France and now living in Brooklyn, de Balincourt draws fictional parodies of Americana, picturing a spoof nation that is both foreign and familiar. Through his faux-naif style, de Balincourt creates a humorous reportage, inventing a contemporary anthropology based on media representation, political dissent and blue-collar ethics'(ibid,p. 35).