Pamela Kogen’s recent work encompasses two distinct series: ‘Ephemeral Portraits' and 'Domestic Liturgy'. Returning to figuration after years of abstract painting, she is creating fleeting, intimate portraits as well as painting atmospheric spaces that are familiar and overlooked. The portraits, now numbering in the several hundred, are of artists, posing for the length of a song. The ‘Domestic Liturgy’ paintings are a reverent nod to and exploration of the simple spaces we occupy in our daily lives — the kitchen and bathroom. These paintings, on un-gessoed linen, allow the usually covered linen to play a more significant role in the overall palette. Pamela has often featured working textiles, such as burlap, ticking and discarded sails, in past series, drawn to their history and utility.

“Making art is a way for me to synthesize and understand my experience in the world. Creating work that is intimate and quiet, that connects with people and the human experience, speaks to memory and daily rhythms, is a space I am finding deeply rewarding occupying."

Pamela graduated from Parsons School of Design(NYC) with a BA in painting. She moved between careers in fine art to fashion — as a wardrobe and prop stylist for advertising and editorial media, to illustration — her drawings appearing in books, editorials, and advertising, and then back to a career in fine art. Pamela’s illustrations appeared in books and publications such as The New York Times Magazine, Mademoiselle and Forbes, as well as for MoMa(NYC), and advertising for Barneys NY, Henri Bendel, Estée Lauder and Liz Claiborne, amongst many.

Pamela’s artwork appears consistently in Bay Area shows, she was a featured artist in the 2022 publication ‘Artists of the Bay Area – Volume ll’, curated by Jen Tough Gallery.