Zoë Renait (b. 1996, Carbondale, Illinois) is an American painter who lives and works in Long Beach, California. Her practice navigates the delicate tension between the material and the ethereal, constructing surreal, dreamlike scenes that blur the boundaries between luxury and nature, mysticism and reality. Rooted in atmosphere and intuition, her work invites viewers into liminal spaces where the familiar becomes quietly transcendent.
Raised in the quiet solitude of the Midwest, Renait developed a rich inner world shaped by mindful observation and a sense of glimmering escapism. This early environment fostered an attentiveness to subtle emotional states and fleeting moments—sensibilities that continue to inform her visual language. Her paintings often feel suspended in time, reflecting an inward gaze shaped by both stillness and imagination.
Renait studied psychology and presented her thesis on Mindfulness at Harvard, an academic foundation that deeply informs her artistic practice. This engagement with perception, awareness, and inner experience underpins her approach to painting, where emotional nuance and psychological presence take precedence over narrative clarity. Following her studies, she relocated to the West Coast, drawn to Los Angeles’ distinctive convergence of glamour, fantasy, and organic beauty.
Working primarily in oil paint, Renait transforms everyday moments into divinely intimate compositions. Figures, objects, and environments are suspended within softly charged spaces, where high society and leisure culture take on an almost mythic quality. Her scenes are layered with symbolism—gestures, glances, and details that suggest ritual, desire, and quiet reverence—inviting viewers to step into an enchanting reality where dreams and the tangible world coexist.
Through this fusion of psychological depth, surrealist imagery, and painterly restraint, Renait continues to develop a body of work that is both intimate and expansive, offering meditative reflections on presence, longing, and the subtle magic embedded within contemporary life.