Portrait by Abbi Chase
Pooja Pittie is a self-taught visual artist who lives and works in Chicago.
Raised in Mumbai, India, Pittie trained as an accountant and moved to the U.S. in 1999. While pursuing an MBA in Finance from the University of Chicago and an entrepreneurial career, she began to develop a self-directed painting practice, and in 2016, shifted her focus to making art full-time. Since then, Pittie has completed the HATCH residency at Chicago Artists' Coalition, the Center Program at Hyde Park Art Center, and the 3Arts Bodies of Work Fellowship at University of Illinois.
Pittie has an incurable and progressive form of muscular dystrophy, and through a practice rooted in painting and fiber, her process explores the ever-changing relationship between a body that is often slow and an active, curious mind.
Pittie is the recipient of the 2022 3Arts Next Level/ Spare Room Award and has been nominated for the Joan Mitchell Foundation Painters & Sculptors Grant. Her work is in the collections of The Museum of Fine Arts Houston, The University of Chicago, and the University of Illinois, among others. Her paintings have been exhibited at venues such as Art Miami, EXPO Chicago, McCormick Gallery and The Union League Club of Chicago. Pittie is represented by the McCormick Gallery in Chicago.