Publications: Artnews

Paul Balmer paints Manhattan cityscapes as if from an eagle’s earie. Many of the city’s landmark buildings, seen from this height and distance, soar into sunlight with a vertical exuberance barely contained by the canvas. The artist displays a supple feel for bold design, especially the play of sunset and shadow on the built environment. The magic, as well as the tranquility of his cityscapes have much to do with the use of the earth tones like terracotta, ochre, creamy gray, off-white and pale-bleu.

Moving River (2004) has a vibrant surface criss-crossed by craggy incised lines, evocative of Paul Klee. These provide a ghostly armature and counterpoint to the lush planes of aquamarine. Jottings of sailboats further enliven the soft-edged blues, which pulsate with quiet energy. Everywhere in Balmer’s work, rubbings and scrapings of pigments mimic the look of surfaces where posters have been ripped from billboards, of peeling paint and rusted trestles. Snow on Central Park (2005) is an exuberant tour de force of the fantasy and whimsy. The waning winter light fades on a phalanx of stolid Fifth Avenue fortresses, while in the park—here a scrim of frosty white and scumbled-over blue—ranks of miniature trees, right out of a child’s coloring book’ pattern the avoid. –David Cleveland