Agata Lelek was born in Warsaw, Poland in 1960. She attended WARSAW’S SCHOOL OF VISUAL ART for five years where she earned her Diploma. She was taught traditional methods of drawing and composition that is obvious in her art today.

She arrived in Australia in 1982, here she met her husband and a couple of years later started a family. She has continued to paint all through the years whilst raising her two children and remained very passionate about her art. Her main influences then were Caravaggio, Rembrandt and Andrew Wyeth.
It has not been until recent years however that she begun to exhibit. Her previously traditional style of portraiture evolved into a more provocative expression of herself and earned her recognition as an outstanding talent.

Her art emerges from the need to express hidden strong human passions. Stripping an object of colour bares the underlying emotion and this is what Agata Lelek endeavours to achieve with her bold strokes and innovative use of texture and mediums to reach the desired effect. Her later works were greatly influenced by the art of Mark Demsteader and Jenny Valmadre.

Agata’s first passion is portraiture and figurative art, but she is by no means limited to that alone, likewise her preferred medium is pastel, but she is equally at ease with oil, watercolour or other mediums.
Her ability to portray with striking resemblance and capturing personality and ambience of her models has placed her in demand for commissioned work, as a tutor and workshop demonstrator.

Agata teaches life drawing, portraiture and mixed techniques at the many Art societies in Victoria; pastel and oil painting MMAG, pastel and acrylic in GECAG and all the techniques and media privately at her home studio.
She’s won many awards among them; “Best in show”, “Best pastel” twice and “Best other Medium” during WAS’ Annual Art Show, “Best Use OF Colour” and “The Best Non-Traditional Work” at the PSV Art Show.
Agata Lelek is currently represented by Jenny Pihan Fine Art.