Artist in Residence

In June 2020, internationally renowned artist Polly Apfelbaum began a residency in the ceramics studio with Professor Gregg Moore and production assistant Rachel Geisinger '19 to produce works for an exhibition in the Spruance Gallery. Apfelbaum's residency culminates in spring 2022 with new exhibitions accompanied by a series of public programs and a publication.

About the Artist

Polly Apfelbaum is a multidisciplinary artist who engages art history and popular culture through colorful, large-scale installations that assemble fabrics or rugs, ceramics, drawings, sculptures and found objects. Apfelbaum received a BFA from Tyler School of Art, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania. She has lived and worked in New York City since 1978 and has shown consistently in the United States and internationally since her first one-person-show in 1986.

Visit Polly Apfelbaum's website

News & Programming

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Polly Apfelbaum: For the Love of Una Hale

February 3–April 17, 2022
Spruance and Rosedale Galleries

A personal exploration of Pennsylvania German art and culture and its formative influence on the artist's sensibility, "Polly Apfelbaum: For the Love of Una Hale" originated with a painting David Ellinger (1913-2003) from Apfelbaum's childhood home, a short distance from Arcadia's campus. Apfelbaum’s new ceramic works are contextualized by site-specific wallpapers and an exhibition of works by Ellinger, a noted Pennsylvania folk artist and antiques dealer who was also a drag performer known as Una Hale. 

More information about Polly Apfelbaum: For the Love of Una Hale

Polly Apfelbaum: For the Love of Una Hale
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Out of the Heart: The Life and Art of David Ellinger

February 3–April 17, 2022
Harrison Gallery

Curated by Lisa Minardi, executive director of Historic Trappe, “Out of the Heart: The Life and Art of David Ellinger” was developed in conjunction with Apfelbaum's exhibition. Featuring a selection of 60 works and related documentation, this survey explores the creative production of a self-taught artist who helped popularize Pennsylvania German culture in the mid-1900s. Together, the two exhibitions serve to demonstrate the formative influence of Pennsylvania German folk art on different but parallel sensibilities.  

More Information about Out of the Heart: The Life and Art of David Ellinger

Out of the Heart: The Life and Art of David Ellinger

Major support for "Polly Apfelbaum: For the Love of Una Hale" and "Out of the Heart: The Life and Art of David Ellinger" has been provided by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage, with additional support from Creative Capital.

The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage is a multidisciplinary grantmaker and hub for knowledge-sharing, funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts, dedicated to fostering a vibrant cultural community in Greater Philadelphia. The Center invests in ambitious, imaginative, and catalytic work that showcases the region’s cultural vitality and enhances public life, and engages in an exchange of ideas concerning artistic and interpretive practice with a broad network of cultural practitioners and leaders.