Provenance: Blanc Gallery

ABOUT THE WORK

Despite often being hailed as narrative in nature, the true allure of Allan Balisi’s works are their seemingly abstract roots in the metaphysical and the metaphorical. Upon first glance, his forms and figures are undoubtedly recognizable even to the untrained eye. Yet, a closer look reveals the artists’ unorthodox and unconventional use of the contrasting relationship between light and shadow. Balisi’s works often feature blown out highlights in its details and deep inky blacks in its shadows. This lends it a journalistic and candid feel, reminiscent of the frank and intimate works of photographers like Diane Arbus and Nan Golding. Yet, Balisi’s treatment adds another layer to his work. By creating distinct yet vague human forms, one can project one’s own self into the work, effectively affixing the abstract concept of the universal into the particularities of the human condition. It is the artist’s narrative aesthetic that draws the viewer in, but it is his conceptual understanding that makes his work linger in the soul.