The artwork of Jennifer Nehrbass pieces together a beautiful hodgepodge of diverse patterns, shapes, symbols, and objects—complete with body parts such as fingers and breasts peaking out from unexpected places. However, her collage-like compositions are actually created through painting! Although the artist does also create equally compelling collages, most of the work below was made by applying oil paint to canvas—can you tell which is which? Nehrbass’s stunning work flaunts bold backgrounds along with figures that appear to have eyes missing or part of a leg — sometimes they have no body at all. Her style seems to be reminiscent of the work of the surrealists, with uncanny faces and bizarre twists on the human form. She rearranges elements, deconstructing and reconstructing a new space, new beings.

The artist’s talent and skill in photo-realism is taken even farther in her “Cameo” series. These equally as intriguing portraits beautifully capture a variety of women, with each composition containing a hint of an element of strange. In Nehrbass’s piece “Tasting Juniper,” the woman’s body is gone, and an animal skull rests over her face. In another, the figure seems frozen, unable to move in an interesting landscape. Make sure to check out the whole series for a deeper look into the wonderfully peculiar and unique mind of the artist.

Earning an MFA from the University of New Mexico, Jennifer Nehrbass’s work has been exhibited in cities such as LA, Portland, and NYC, and around in the world in places like Switzerland and Austria.