Madeleine Gross originally studied photography and graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Ontario College of Art & Design. Today, the artist combines photography and painting to represent how we live in both reality and fantasy. Photographing idyllic scenes from across the world: beaches, lakes, snow-covered mountains and medieval cobbled streets, she modifies these images with vibrant brushstrokes. The result is a unique form of artistic expression: part photo, part painting - photo-realism and abstraction in one frame.

The blend of styles and media Gross uses illustrates the fantasy that is integral to the human experience. With her work, the artist aims to comment on how our emotions and expectations colour how we perceive people and places, asking us to consider how much of our memories and daily experiences are, in fact, projections of feelings, hopes, and dreams. By making use of photography as a base, the artist allows the viewer to participate in the emotions of others, while the abstract painting element allows us to see ourselves in each frame.

Gross is an artist of the Instagram era, yet in many ways, these images, which are popular on social media, counteract it. Rather than rejecting the viewer, their beauty invites them in, with swirls of colour inspiring joy instead of the anxiety so often provoked by the platform. Her images champion the female figure in its expressions of beauty, strength, and love.

Gross continues to develop her visual and symbolic language and to push the boundaries of both genres - photography and painting. Her work has been exhibited and sold worldwide and has been featured in publications such as i-D, The Coveteur, and Interview Magazine, as well as on art fairs such as Art Miami, Palm Beach Modern + Contemporary, Art New York, and Scope.

The artist currently lives and works in Toronto, Canada.