Artist Statement
I started my practice using primarily heavy body acrylic applications, but I have started to use watercolor and dry media in more recent projects. I now make large scale portraiture, textured abstract paintings, and mixed media work of collage and heavy acrylic.
I depict my life experiences through a self portrait series with abstracted elements that add a higher narrative to the pieces. Besides my self portraits, My pieces are often created around real people in my life to showcase their experiences as well. Though some are just simply realistic portraits, I use the caption of the piece to detail the subject’s story/message to add a narrative element.
Key themes explored in my work are womanhood, sexual exploration, body positivity, and mental health awareness. All of these themes are supported by my overarching theme of Feminism that is prevalent throughout my entire body of work. I am a strong activist for women’s rights and a lot of my work commentates on the current political climate surrounding reproductive rights and access to health care.
One of my most recent works was a series of digital self portraits that depicted my reaction to the election. The first of the series explored elements of pop culture media in collage format mixed with an oil realism portrait of myself. I aim for my work to shed light on suppressed stories and offer elements of education on women’s issues to viewers.
Artist Bio
Born in Waco, Texas, now living in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, Aubrey Krumnow will be graduating from the University of North Texas in Spring of 2025. With a Bachelor’s degree in the fine arts, she will expand her practice as a visual fine artist. Aubrey is a contemporary artist that focuses on realism portraiture with motifs of feminism and mental health awareness. She works primarily in heavy-body acrylic, but also dabbles in oil and watercolor techniques for her portrait depiction.
With her most recent works taking on activism notes as well to commentate on the current political climate in relation to women’s rights, Aubrey has shifted to more mixed media approaches with abstracted elements in her portraits. Some of her most recent bodies of works include collaged additions of media clippings paired with nude female forms. Her work now aims to address larger political issues and to represent her voice on a larger, more visual scale. Though her style is shifting as her career develops, feminism remains her creative subject focus.