Danny Balgley
September 8, 2026
The charming painter Danny Balgley joins us for an in-depth conversation about process, technique, materials, memory, and New York!
His exhibition “Pentimento” is currently on view at the Wexler Gallery in Philadelphia through October 2, 2026. Directly translated, ‘pentimento’ means “to change one’s mind” or “to repent.” In painting it refers to a mark, shape, or figure that has been painted over but which, over time, becomes visible again. This process of painting, covering, and revealing has become central to Balgley’s work—abstractions which both unearth and fold in on themselves.
Balgley unpacks his complicated process at length, describing the way he prepares his canvases and then slowly applies layer after gestural layer of color to them; wiping some away, building up texture, and then delicately going back into the resulting forms to finesse the composition. We discuss the tools he uses and his interest in special effects in painting—how different techniques and color relationships can evoke space or surfaces, and how abrupt juxtapositions can break them apart.
Maybe it’s because he’s a fourth generation New Yorker on both sides of his family that Balgley is so connected to the way that changes reveal themselves over time, to reclamation and renovation, with history that shows through the current moment. We talk about his own history, what it means to be a queer artist making non-representational work, and what his paintings looked like before he ventured into abstraction.
Listen in to a rich discussion about imperfection, slipperiness, and the transparency of time with a perfectly balanced musical accompaniment!
Complete playlist below; tracks in yellow were cut for time.
- Lapse Chris Knox 1991
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Heaps Of Sheeps Robert Wyatt 1997
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Huffer The Breeders 2002
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Poor Moon - Bonus Track Canned Heat 1969
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The Corner Lewsberg 2021
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Solid Brown Sebadoh 2007
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Marigold Nirvana 1993
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Ride Into the Sun - Demo - Take 2 Lou Reed 2022
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In The Garden Michael Hurley 1976
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Ship Thee Oh Sees 2008
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Anenome The Brian Jonestown Massacre 2008
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Trouble in Mind Janis Joplin, Jorma Kaukonen 2022
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Mr. Soul Neil Young 1982
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Shadow of a Doubt Sonic Youth 1986
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Final Day - Taken From The Final Day Single Young Marble Giants 2007
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Chamber Of Reflection Mac DeMarco 2014
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Tugboat Galaxie 500 1988
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Yellow Ledbetter Pearl Jam 1991
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I Won't Hurt You Neo Maya 1967
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Ghost Song Jim Morrison, The Doors 1978
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Peace Blossom Boogy Babe Rainbow 2017
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Staring at Screens Smirk 2021
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True Love Powerplant 2019
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If We Wait Guided By Voices 1996
- Ain't That Lovin' You Baby Link Wray & The Wraymen 2002
Danny Balgley (b. New York, NY) lives and works in Queens, NY. He holds an MFA from Columbia University, a BFA from Cooper Union and attended the Yale School of Art Norfolk program on an Ellen Battell Stoeckel Grant. He has won the Mark Rothko Award, received grants from Ellen Gellman Fellowship and Ethel Cram Memorial Prize and has been nominated for the Joan Mitchell Fellowship. His work has been featured in “Architectural Digest”, “New American Paintings,” “Arts in Square”, and most recently, “Friend of the Artist.”