Polly Apfelbaum is known for her masterful use of color, achieved in drawing, sculpture, and installation work. Apfelbaum received her BFA from the Tyler School of Art in 1978, held her first solo show in 1986, and has been showing work in the United States and abroad since then. Apfelbaum’s work is held in collections including the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Whitney Museum of American Art. Apfelbaum has held solo exhibitions at venues including the Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia, Magasin 111, Jaffa, Kunstmuseum Luzern, Lucerne, the Kemper Museum, Kansas City, Ikon Gallery, Birmingham, and Belvedere 21, Vienna. Apfelbaum was a 2012 recipient of the prestigious Rome Prize. Apfelbaum is represented by Frith Street Gallery, London and Galerie nächst St. Stephan, Vienna. Polly Apfelbaum returned to 56 Henry for a show in 2023, seven years after inaugurating the space in 2015.