Cityscapes have formed the backbone of Baloghy’s output over the last thirty years. In this new series he has created fantastical landscapes that initially look like Auckland City, yet are not quite.
Recognisable landmarks abound, but not where they should be. From Rangitoto Island to the War Memorial Museum, major features have been pushed around. The whole landscape has been rearranged. In the process an alternative reality has been created, an alternative Auckland, what it might be, what it could be, what the whimsy of the artist dictates it will be in this alter-real Magic City. Reality and fantasy collide. References to the colonial past abound, most specifically with the presence of sailing ships. These jostle for attention with contemporary cars and modern glass towers populating the horizon.
In the past Baloghy has faithfully recorded the dynamic changing city: here he playfully tosses the main city elements around and mixes them up, as if in a blender. Yet at the same time it could not possibly be any other place, the character of Auckland city is retained, even enhanced. As is typical of Baloghy there is contrast between the formal compositions and the pervading quirky humour, the old and the new, the heroic and the banal.
His hyper-realism makes edges sharper, colours more saturated, and distant objects clearer, adding a slightly dreamy intensity that is Baloghy’s trademark realism. These are bold works by a mature artist confident in his creative powers to splice together his two worlds; the real and the imagined.
