Artist Profile: Julia Fennell
Overview
Julia Fennell is a Connecticut-based painter whose introspective self-portraits explore the emotional terrain of memory, identity, and transformation. Rooted in a deep practice of personal reflection, Fennell’s work translates lived experience into luminous compositions—each painting acting as both mirror and monument to inner resilience. A graduate of the University of Chicago with a degree in visual arts, she began pursuing art full-time in 2024 and has since exhibited widely across New York City and Chicago.
In Self-Portrait of Salvation in Chicago, Fennell offers a poignant meditation on healing and presence. Using oil and layered glazes, she weaves together surreal and hyperreal elements that challenge the boundaries of time and self. The painting is part revelation, part release—a visual act of holding space for who we were, who we are, and who we might become. Her process, deeply influenced by classical technique and contemporary emotion, invites viewers into a sacred intimacy where vulnerability becomes luminous.
Featured Artwork
Bushwick Gallery
- Artwork Title: Self-Portrait of Salvation in Chicago
- Year of Creation: 2025
- Medium: Oil on canvas
- Dimensions: 30 x 30 x 1 inches
- Location: Wilton, CT, United States