Jennifer Nehrbass’s artworks look like collages at a first glance, but the seemingly cut and pasted images of geological formations, abstract patterns and human characters are actually painted with oils. The artist fits many disparate images and influences into her work. Her narrative paintings plant the viewer alongside female protagonists (most of whom are Nehrbass herself) who are undergoing journeys — adventures through the rocky, American Southwestern terrain as well as journeys of self-discovery. Nehrbass says that she uses herself as a primary subject because her work is a critique of the established art historical and sartorial cannons. Influenced by Cindy Sherman and author Margaret Atwood, she plays with different identities and creates various personas through the elaborate staging of details. Each woman faces a different adventure and must find her own path.
