Scope New York 2016
Zoé Byland’s monochromatic paintings resemble family photographs from the Victorian era, with the series appropriately titled “Souvenir”. Dressed in period garb, the sitter’s impassive expressions strike an alluring contrast to their oftentimes jocular and surrealistic accompaniments. Byland’s figures can be found adorned with space helmets reflecting the artist’s studio à la M.C. Escher or posing placidly in a snowy interior with an owl overhead. Each painting is executed in Byland’s stunningly realistic technique creating a highly believable world one would typically find in dreams.