A famous Costa Rican proverb goes, “There are more eyes than leaves on the trees.” It simply means that as isolated as one may be, somehow, people will always know what you are doing. Perhaps no one takes this proverb as much to heart as the painter Jules de Balincourt, who divides his time between New York and Costa Rica. In a new series of landscape paintings, he conveys his desire for physical and emotional escape through scenes in which nature and city converge in fantastical clashes of color. As de Balincourt explains, “It’s about these really basic, earthy elements, and our relationship and our vulnerability, as we attempt to coexist in a constant flux.” —Elena Clavarino