Irinessa
A Chicago-based painter working primarily in oil. My art lives in the space between feeling and form, where identity becomes fluid and emotion takes center stage. I’m drawn to faceless figures, floral bursts, and surreal compositions that ask more than they answer. Each piece is a visual meditation on the things we don’t say out loud—quiet moments, blurred memories, and inner monologues rendered in color and texture.
My work isn’t about recreating reality. It’s about reinterpreting it—one brushstroke at a time.
My Story
I didn’t grow up thinking I’d be an artist. I spent years working in data, analytics, and structured environments, learning how to build narratives through numbers. But it was the emotional residue of everyday life—commutes, conversations, late-night thoughts—that pulled me toward painting. What started as a creative escape became a necessity. It was the one place I didn’t have to explain myself.
As an immigrant, as a woman, as someone constantly navigating dual identities, art gave me a language I could trust. I paint because it lets me hold contradictions—beauty and unrest, softness and boldness, clarity and surrealism—all in one frame.
Now, I’m building a world where people don’t just view art—they feel seen by it.