Jules de Balincourt, A Few Good Men, 2010. All images courtesy of Jules de Balincourt, A Few Good Men, 2010

If you’re searching for metaphysical rejuvenation, Jules de Balincourt mixes a potent visual tonic of apocalyptic sunbursts and fractured fortunetellers. Continuing his international successes in Paris, London, and Tokyo, the lithe 37-year-old graced Deitch’s cool gallery interiors last month with sixteen figurative and abstract paintings, marking his most extensive exhibition to date. Despite de Balincourt’s politically tinged oeuvre, his recent works have been decidedly more meditative, measuring the imprint of technology in a process of thoughtful internalization. Dense iterations of life, chaos, and computers, de Balincourt’s art presents content and form in a deliberate DIY, faux-naïf aesthetic. Oil and acrylic media, stencils, tape, knives, and spray paint are employed in equal measure.
     Besides a penchant for lush settings and a Day-Glo palette, de Balincourt’s psychedelic-cum-futuristic art reveals his mélange of influences. Incorporating a French pedigree and California culture, it appears richly idiosyncratic (think a hallucinogenic hike through the Barbizon woods). Part humanitarian, part provocative, De Balincourt’s creative output could be seen to reflect his extracurricular activities, including the temporarily defunct Starr Space (a Brooklyn hub for yoga and gallery denizens alike) and Bush-era protests.