I am an artist working in photography, drawn to the quiet ways still life can make ordinary things feel meaningful. I’m especially interested in its smaller branches, object still life, where worn or discarded items take on new texture and form; botanical still life, which highlights the delicate beauty of plants and flowers; and vanitas, where symbols like fruit, clocks, or skulls reflect on time and impermanence.

My recent work focuses on studio-based still lifes and portraiture inspired by 16th–17th century painting traditions, while still remaining rooted in the present. I use light, shadow, and subtle gestures to build images that feel familiar yet slightly off-center, images that explore how we are seen versus how we see ourselves.

Across still life and portraiture, I return again and again to stillness: how it can hold memory, emotion, and story without ever raising its voice.

Jesusita Aldrete is a photographer based in Austin, Texas, and an undergraduate photography student at St. Edward’s University. With over six years of experience behind the camera, her work moves between carefully constructed studio scenes and quieter moments of observation. Drawing from traditions of still life and portraiture, Aldrete explores themes of stillness, introspection, and subtle storytelling through images that hint at hidden narratives.

Jesusita Aldrete 

EDUCATION AND TRAINING:

2022 - 2026          St. Edwards University, Austin, TX 

BA in Photography and Media Arts 

GROUP EXHIBITIONS:

2026                  

  (Upcoming) St. Edwards University 

                          Senior Photography Exhibition, Austin, TX

WORK

2022                    Intern at San Antonio Express-News

2023                    Temp Photography

at Circuit of the Americas 

2023 - Present   Lab Monitor Assistant,

St. Edwards University

AWARDS/GRANTS 

2022                   Scholar Award, St. Edwards University

Merit-based scholarship