Portrait of Spot the Robot Descending a Staircase

Bay Area artist Agnieszka Pilat started her career as a classical painter and illustrator, spending her days secluded in a studio painting portraits. Originally from Poland, she struggled to break into the competitive San Francisco art scene: Galleries weren't interested in her work and she felt isolated, until a local art collector approached her with a proposition. He wasn't interested in the ballerinas she often painted, but liked her expressive painting style. He renovated buildings by day, and often kept old artifacts he picked up from these sites in his office. He invited Pilat to come and paint him something from his collection of misfit objects.