Jessica Taft Original Artwork

Jessica Taft is a Melbourne-based artist who paints emotional states through the merging of the human figure, botanical symbolism and abstraction. Her work explores the quiet experiences we carry through life - grief, joy, tenderness, resilience and becoming - through atmospheric paintings that exist between realism and imagination.

Working primarily in oil, watercolour and mixed media, Jessica combines classical realism with expressive abstraction, allowing recognisable forms to dissolve into colour, light and atmosphere. Flowers become emotional symbols, water speaks to surrender and renewal, and recurring motifs create a symbolic language that invites viewers to bring their own experiences to each painting.

Jessica studied drawing, portraiture, oil painting and watercolour for eight years under Melbourne artist Margarita Krivitsky before completing an intensive oil painting program in Florence, Italy. Her artistic training sits alongside a Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Laws (Honours) and a PhD from Monash University, bringing both technical discipline and thoughtful inquiry to her practice.

Her current body of work, What We Carried, explores the invisible experiences that shape us over time and the quiet transformation of emotional weight into strength. Jessica's paintings are held in private collections throughout Australia, and she has exhibited in group exhibitions and events including Yarra Sculpture Gallery and Space2b. The original works from What We Carried are available through Gioia Wall Art.