about

julia fennell (she/her) is an oil painter, a fiber artist, a one-time mixed-media quilter, a gift-giver, and an ambitious beginner in the realm of thinking. she has kept a running list of all her thoughts in her notes app for the past three years. she loves to paint. when she was asked for a class in college to make a painting without using paint, the most important element she knew to include, for her, was joy. she graduated from the university of chicago with a degree in visual arts with honors in june 2024, and she has been working full-time as an artist since then. 

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her work deals with the relationship to the self via self-portraiture. the work of sitting in relationship with herself is one of the most important ways to understand who she is and who she has been. by opening up the space of her art to all versions of herself across time, she holds space for who she is and who she has been. relating to the past versions of herself affords her room to process her experiences.

much of her work consists of oil paintings. the process of oil painting is slow and meditative. the time she devotes to each painting is time to reflect, connect, love, and grow. 

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her work invites the viewer to share in the relational space that she opens through painting. the relational work of making art is an act of unparalleled love—a pursuit of knowledge and connection through understanding. 

you can find her on Instagram @juliafennellart