Blind Faith and Tunnel Vision by Jules de Balincourt, courtesy of Zack Feuer Gallery/LFL

(Photo: Frank Schwere)

Jules de Balincourt
Painter
“I’m so sick of being pegged as an outsider,” says painter De Balincourt, frustrated with the market craze for faux-naïve painting. His canvases overflow with references to Americana—which doesn’t mean they’re folksy, or even especially American; born in France, De Balincourt was raised on the West Coast by his “alternative” mom. The 32-year-old artist is in his final year of the Hunter M.F.A. program, but his thesis will have to wait: He’s been holed up in Greenpoint completing work for “Greater New York” as well as a second solo show at Zach Feuer (opening March 3). Since the Rubells, Dean Valentine, Mario Testino, Rosa de la Cruz, and the Aldrich Museum are among De Balincourt’s collectors, it’s unlikely that the “outsider” label will haunt him for much longer.