Stephen Polatch b. 1990

Stephen Polatch is a London bases painter who lives and works in London. He received his BFA from the Ruskin School of Art, University of Oxford, in 2013.

Polatch’s practice explores the expressive and symbolic potential of colour, often using it as both subject and structure within his paintings. His works move between figuration and abstraction, constructing ambiguous spaces where forms emerge and dissolve, and where colour carries emotional and psychological weight. Through this approach, he examines how meaning can be shaped as much by sensation and perception as by representation.

Recent solo exhibitions include The Beloved Color. The Hateful Color. at Margot Samel, New York (2024); Swan-Road at Margot Samel, New York (2022); and Clyde at Soft Opening, London (2022). Across these presentations, Polatch has developed a body of work that reflects an ongoing engagement with the material and affective properties of paint, inviting viewers to consider how colour can both attract and unsettle, describe and obscure.