Byne, Enlightenment Without Reason, 2020. Acrylic on canvas, 40 x 50cm. Courtesy: the artist.
LUKE POTKIN
Fair Director, The Other Art Fair, Australia
Byne’s stark black backdrop suggests dark subject matter and, as you are drawn in, it only becomes more macabre. The figure is grotesque and yet there is a fragility too, aided by his delicate brushwork and the gentle suspension of a falling figure. As with much of Byne’s work, it serves to question the value of spirituality. With its chest ripped open the figure’s soul is laid bare. Its head can no longer support itself, as the sinew and muscle gape at the neck, whilst falling eternally through an endless black void. The suggestion here is that the figure has achieved enlightenment, but at what cost.
PATTY CHEHADE
Gallery director, praxis ARTSPACE, Adelaide
Byne’s abject figures entwine themselves, fabricating a figure that is inconceivable. Enlightenment Without Reason unavoidably creates a visceral response in us, the viewer, as we are forced to experience the artist’s own internal conflicts.
MICHELLE CHANIQUE
Gallery Manager, Galerie pompom, Sydney
Byne’s work draws you in. You are curious as to what exactly it is. Byne’s technique is exceptional, the chiaroscuro makes it almost look photographic. It feels like it is from another world.