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Paul Balmer

Biography

Paul Balmer continues his deep exploration of cityscapes while venturing into still-life and abstraction. He trains his eye on San Francisco as well as his longtime subject of New York, capturing iconic skyscrapers and their surrounding cast of supporting structures with improvisational linework, vivid and moody colors, and raw, beautiful surfaces. Nature and leisure often filter into his skylines, the water visible in the distance, full of floating-triangle sailboats: calmness and complexity interwoven.

The same words characterize his monumental, vibrant still-lifes: while the scenes are breezy and serene, their balance of pattern, color, and form is intricate and sophisticated. In fact, though Balmer’s paintings are full of action, their tone is often tranquil. His recent abstractions, created last winter in the Dominican Republic, a setting whose slower pace reminded him of his childhood in South Africa, are densely layered, inspired by clear night skies, changing seasons, and lunar cycles. Though their surfaces are “scratched, scraped, and sanded,” he notes that they refer to a “happy, simple way of life.”

Like Cézanne and Pierre Bonnard, two of his important influences, Balmer prioritizes color, light, and perspective. The style he has invented draws on influences ranging from tribal art to impressionism to expressionist masters like Kandinsky and Paul Klee, pulling an essence of feeling from each tradition. “My paintings are not meant to be an exact depiction, but rather an ‘impression’ of a place,” he has said. “I hope the viewer can get a ‘feeling’ or a visceral sense…perhaps even a subconscious connection to that scene.”

Setting out from his South African origins, Balmer studied fine art in Sydney, Australia, and has described his 1999 move to New York as a turning point. He has received praise in Vanity Fair and ARTNews, among others; exhibited at galleries and art fairs in the U.S. and internationally; and placed his work in numerous private collections.

Education

BFA, Meadowbank College, Sydney, Australia.

Graphic Design, Randwick College, Sydney, Australia.


Collectors

Paul's work is included in many private and public collections including Delta Airlines, Marriott Hotels Boston, The Queen Mary 2, The Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Yale New Haven Hospital, Bridgeport Hospital and Suffolk University.


Selected Solo and Group Exhibitions

2022 Caldwell Snyder Gallery, San Francisco, Napa, Montecito

           Etienne Gallery, Oisterwijk Netherlands

           Art Market Caldwell Snyder Gallery, San Francisco

2021 Caldwell Snyder Gallery,San Francisco, Napa, Montecito, CA

           Etienne Gallery, Oisterwijk Netherlands

2020 Etienne Gallery, Oisterwijk Netherlands

            Kobalt Gallery, Provincetown, MA

2019 LA Art Fair, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, Los Angeles, CA

           Art Market San Francisco, Caldwell Snyder Gallery

           Recent Paintings, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, San Francisco

2018 35th Anniversary Show, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, San Francisco, CA

           Art Market San Francisco, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, SF, CA

           Recent Paintings, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, St. Helena, CA

2017 Recent Paintings, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, SF, CA.

           Art Market San Francisco, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, SF, CA.

2016  Calm & Complex, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, St. Helena, CA.

           Miami Context, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, Miami, FL.

           Caldwell Snyder Gallery, St. Helena, CA.

           Arden Gallery Solo Exhibition, Boston, MA.

           Context NY, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, New York, NY.

           Caldwell Snyder Gallery, San Francisco, CA.

           Art Market SF, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, San Francisco, CA.

2015  Miami Context, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, Miami, FL.

           Art Silicon Valley, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, San Mateo, CA.

           Caldwell Snyder Gallery, San Francisco, CA

           Pan Amsterdam Fair, Etienne Gallery, Oisterwijk Netherlands

2014  Campton Gallery, New York, NY.

           Miami Context, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, Miami, FL.

           Etienne Gallery, Oisterwijk, Netherlands.

           Arden Gallery, Boston, MA.

           Art Silicon Valley, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, San Mateo, CA.

           Art South Hampton, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, Water Mill, NY.

           Caldwell Snyder Gallery, St. Helena, CA.

2013  Caldwell Snyder Gallery, San Francisco, CA.

           Whitewave Gallery, Seoul, Korea.

2012  Campton Gallery, New York, NY.

           Etienne Gallery, Oisterwijk, Netherlands.

2011  Caldwell Snyder Gallery, St. Helena, CA.

           Campton Gallery, New York, NY.

2010  Red Dot Art Fair, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, Miami, FL.

2009  Caldwell Snyder Gallery, San Francisco, CA.

           Etienne & Van den Doel, Oisterwijk, Netherlands.

2008  Red Dot Art Fair, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, Miami, FL.

2007  Etienne & Van den Doel, Oisterwijk, Netherlands.

           Campton Gallery, New York, NY.

           Arden Gallery, Boston, MA.

2006  Caldwell Snyder, San Francisco, CA.

2005  Campton Gallery, New York, NY.

2004  New York Contemporary, Greenwich, NY.

           Arden Gallery, Boston, MA.

           Brighams Gallery, Nantucket, MA.

           Campton Gallery, New York, NY.

2003  Arden Gallery, Boston, MA.

           Trajan Gallery, Carmel, CA.

           Brighams Gallery, Nantucket, MA

2002  Campton Gallery, New York, NY

           Arden Gallery, Boston, MA.

           Art Miami Art Fair, Miami, FL.

2001 Caldwell Snyder Gallery, San Francisco, CA

           Jerald Melberg Gallery, Charlotte, NC.

2000 Campton Gallery, New York, NY

           Arden Gallery, Boston, MA.

Press

PRESS

Selected Artworks

Blue Night

Blue Night

Oil on Canvas

36 x 60 inches

23293

Morning tea

Morning tea

Oil on Canvas

48 x 48 inches

23256

Holiday Evening

Holiday Evening

Oil on Canvas

29 x 59 inches

23255

Village in the Hills

Village in the Hills

Oil on Canvas

24 x 24 inches

220546

Green Valley

Green Valley

Oil on Canvas

46 x 36 inches

220544

From the Mist

From the Mist

Oil on Canvas

55 x 55 inches

220543

Field and Country

Field and Country

Oil on Panel

24 x 24 inches

220542

Warmed by the Sun

Warmed by the Sun

Oil on Panel

36 x 72 inches

220540

Morning Break

Morning Break

Oil on Panel

36 x 72 inches (diptych)

220537

Vineyard Table

Vineyard Table

Oil on Canvas

30 x 75 inches

220536

Summer Setting August

Summer Setting August

Oil on Panel

30 x 30 inches

220535

Wind Through Hills

Wind Through Hills

Oil on Canvas

40 x 60 inches

220472

Summer Fields

Summer Fields

Oil on Canvas

80 x 80 inches

220470

Clear Day

Clear Day

Oil on Canvas

64 x 64 inches

220213

Red Bridge at Sunset

Red Bridge at Sunset

Oil on Canvas

48 x 96 inches

220180

Fields From Above

Fields From Above

Mixed Media on Panel

48 x 48 inches

210728

Warm Winds

Warm Winds

Mixed Media on Panel

48 x 48 inches

210724

Manhattan Setting Sun

Manhattan Setting Sun

Oil on Canvas

64 x 64 inches

210718

City at Sundown

City at Sundown

Oil on Canvas

42 x 74 inches

180394

Education

BFA, Meadowbank College, Sydney, Australia.

Graphic Design, Randwick College, Sydney, Australia.


Collectors

Paul's work is included in many private and public collections including Delta Airlines, Marriott Hotels Boston, The Queen Mary 2, The Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Yale New Haven Hospital, Bridgeport Hospital and Suffolk University.


Selected Solo and Group Exhibitions

2022 Caldwell Snyder Gallery, San Francisco, Napa, Montecito

           Etienne Gallery, Oisterwijk Netherlands

           Art Market Caldwell Snyder Gallery, San Francisco

2021 Caldwell Snyder Gallery,San Francisco, Napa, Montecito, CA

           Etienne Gallery, Oisterwijk Netherlands

2020 Etienne Gallery, Oisterwijk Netherlands

            Kobalt Gallery, Provincetown, MA

2019 LA Art Fair, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, Los Angeles, CA

           Art Market San Francisco, Caldwell Snyder Gallery

           Recent Paintings, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, San Francisco

2018 35th Anniversary Show, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, San Francisco, CA

           Art Market San Francisco, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, SF, CA

           Recent Paintings, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, St. Helena, CA

2017 Recent Paintings, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, SF, CA.

           Art Market San Francisco, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, SF, CA.

2016  Calm & Complex, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, St. Helena, CA.

           Miami Context, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, Miami, FL.

           Caldwell Snyder Gallery, St. Helena, CA.

           Arden Gallery Solo Exhibition, Boston, MA.

           Context NY, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, New York, NY.

           Caldwell Snyder Gallery, San Francisco, CA.

           Art Market SF, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, San Francisco, CA.

2015  Miami Context, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, Miami, FL.

           Art Silicon Valley, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, San Mateo, CA.

           Caldwell Snyder Gallery, San Francisco, CA

           Pan Amsterdam Fair, Etienne Gallery, Oisterwijk Netherlands

2014  Campton Gallery, New York, NY.

           Miami Context, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, Miami, FL.

           Etienne Gallery, Oisterwijk, Netherlands.

           Arden Gallery, Boston, MA.

           Art Silicon Valley, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, San Mateo, CA.

           Art South Hampton, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, Water Mill, NY.

           Caldwell Snyder Gallery, St. Helena, CA.

2013  Caldwell Snyder Gallery, San Francisco, CA.

           Whitewave Gallery, Seoul, Korea.

2012  Campton Gallery, New York, NY.

           Etienne Gallery, Oisterwijk, Netherlands.

2011  Caldwell Snyder Gallery, St. Helena, CA.

           Campton Gallery, New York, NY.

2010  Red Dot Art Fair, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, Miami, FL.

2009  Caldwell Snyder Gallery, San Francisco, CA.

           Etienne & Van den Doel, Oisterwijk, Netherlands.

2008  Red Dot Art Fair, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, Miami, FL.

2007  Etienne & Van den Doel, Oisterwijk, Netherlands.

           Campton Gallery, New York, NY.

           Arden Gallery, Boston, MA.

2006  Caldwell Snyder, San Francisco, CA.

2005  Campton Gallery, New York, NY.

2004  New York Contemporary, Greenwich, NY.

           Arden Gallery, Boston, MA.

           Brighams Gallery, Nantucket, MA.

           Campton Gallery, New York, NY.

2003  Arden Gallery, Boston, MA.

           Trajan Gallery, Carmel, CA.

           Brighams Gallery, Nantucket, MA

2002  Campton Gallery, New York, NY

           Arden Gallery, Boston, MA.

           Art Miami Art Fair, Miami, FL.

2001 Caldwell Snyder Gallery, San Francisco, CA

           Jerald Melberg Gallery, Charlotte, NC.

2000 Campton Gallery, New York, NY

           Arden Gallery, Boston, MA.

Paul Balmer continues his deep exploration of cityscapes while venturing into still-life and abstraction. He trains his eye on San Francisco as well as his longtime subject of New York, capturing iconic skyscrapers and their surrounding cast of supporting structures with improvisational linework, vivid and moody colors, and raw, beautiful surfaces. Nature and leisure often filter into his skylines, the water visible in the distance, full of floating-triangle sailboats: calmness and complexity interwoven.

The same words characterize his monumental, vibrant still-lifes: while the scenes are breezy and serene, their balance of pattern, color, and form is intricate and sophisticated. In fact, though Balmer’s paintings are full of action, their tone is often tranquil. His recent abstractions, created last winter in the Dominican Republic, a setting whose slower pace reminded him of his childhood in South Africa, are densely layered, inspired by clear night skies, changing seasons, and lunar cycles. Though their surfaces are “scratched, scraped, and sanded,” he notes that they refer to a “happy, simple way of life.”

Like Cézanne and Pierre Bonnard, two of his important influences, Balmer prioritizes color, light, and perspective. The style he has invented draws on influences ranging from tribal art to impressionism to expressionist masters like Kandinsky and Paul Klee, pulling an essence of feeling from each tradition. “My paintings are not meant to be an exact depiction, but rather an ‘impression’ of a place,” he has said. “I hope the viewer can get a ‘feeling’ or a visceral sense…perhaps even a subconscious connection to that scene.”

Setting out from his South African origins, Balmer studied fine art in Sydney, Australia, and has described his 1999 move to New York as a turning point. He has received praise in Vanity Fair and ARTNews, among others; exhibited at galleries and art fairs in the U.S. and internationally; and placed his work in numerous private collections.

Paul Balmer
Biography

Press

Paul Balmer

Like the cityscapes themselves, Paul Balmer’s paintings buzz with the constant, irrepressible force of life.

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