Madeleine Gross is a Toronto-based artist who combines photography and painting to represent how we live in both reality and fantasy. She photographs idyllic scenes from across the world—beaches, lakes, snow-covered mountains and medieval cobbled streets—and paints vibrant strokes over selections of the people, objects, and landscapes. The result is a unique aesthetic: part photo, part painting, photorealism and abstraction in one frame. The blend of styles illustrates the fantasy and daydream of human experience. It comments on how our emotions and expectations color how we see people and places, and it asks us to consider how much of our memories and daily experiences are projections of feelings, hopes, and dreams. Read more »