Painter/ CURATOR/ educator
Artist's Statement + BIO
Through my painting, collage and works on paper, I seek to explore topics connected to my observation of humans living in the 21st century United States. In the last several years, my work has been informed by cultural trends including censorship, global violence, fascism, racism, and widespread misogyny.
My Scream series (2016-2019) chronicles the frustration and uncertainty of social injustice. Other series, such as Disaster are a record of climate change and the global pandemic. My work also lovingly critiques gender stereotypes and nostalgia from the 1950s and 1960s in my Housewives and Breadwinners and my Food of Yesteryear and TV Dinner series.
As a young child, I was influenced by the second wave feminism of the 1970s, as well as the growing ecology movement and our relationship to the planet.
Gen-Xer, Pollak-Lewis grew up in the suburbs of New York, where she was raised in a traditional nuclear family. Her parents furnished their home with classic mid-century modern furniture, abstract art and books.
After graduation from the Rhode Island School of Design with a BFA in Animation/Film, Pollak-Lewis traveled west to San Francisco where she began a commercial art career as a staff artist and freelance Illustrator. Her specialty was capturing expression and emotion.
Throughout her career she has maintained a painting studio where she works in a variety of mediums including oil paint, graphite, ink and collage. She has also been fortunate to have opportunities to curate several group art exhibitions through her studio’s gallery.
During the pandemic, Pollak-Lewis completed her MA in Arts Education from Boston University. She currently works as an arts educator and mentor/coach. In her free time she enjoys cycling, travel and cooking.