Anna Pogudz is a painter and illustrator who works in one of our Harper Road studios. She studied in Warsaw and London and is currently pursuing depictions of contemporary, multifaceted female subjects. 

‘The women in my artworks are powerful, strong and beautiful, but also terrifying, depicted in a grotesque way, full of exaggeration, hyperbolism, and excessiveness. I combine contradicting elements of beauty and ugliness, pain and laughter, harmony and chaos, life and vanishing, creating a grotesque of a contemporary, sugar-coated, mass media, fashion-driven part of our society.’

Between now and when you were studying, have you more or less followed the path that you imagined for yourself, or wandered more dramatically from it?

I graduated a year ago from Wimbledon College of Arts and it's not much time for any dramatic changes, to be honest. My main plan was to continue my practice full time and that is happening. 

Where do you see, or hope, your work might be leading you to in the future?

I am very open to new possibilities, I am working currently on an animation with a friend and enjoy this collaboration. I hope in the future I will experience more cross-disciplinary projects as I find the process socially and materially inspiring. 

How does London feature into your work?

London is the number one place to be in Europe for artists. Art schools, galleries and museums are an obvious thing, and access to everything, from the food to cultural events. I love cultural diversity, meeting people with different backgrounds and listening to different points of view is always inspiring. I have had really good experiences with meeting people who are open and happy to collaborate, you never know who you will meet, or for who or with who you will work, so yes – London, to me, means possibilities.

On the other hand: it is expensive and competitive....

How is your studio at Hotel Elephant?

I have a room with natural light, it’s perfect for a painter.

One boring, daily, practical piece of advice or habit that you would share?

Simple things are the best: write a daily plan, sleep well, eat healthy and exercise!

One greater lesson that has changed the way you understand what you do, or wish you had realised sooner?

Sharing your plans and projects with as many people as possible, because there is always somebody who can help you to realize them, and sometimes they are not who you would expect.

Visit Anna’s Website here: https://www.annapogudz.com

Instagram: annapogudz_studio