About

Kevin Pollard is an award-winning costume designer and artist. Having worked extensively in opera and theatre, Kevin’s paintings and sculptures are filled with colour, texture and movement.

Kevin trained in art & design in Mansfield, then moved to Manchester to study fashion textiles where he discovered a love for costume and theatre. He has had a full and busy career as a costume designer, travelling the world and commissioned by opera houses in Milan, New York and London. Throughout this period, Kevin continued to paint, viewing his work as a loosely curated visual diary.

Whilst Kevin’s work is aesthetically diverse, his projects are linked by a focus on personal experiences and connections with landscape, portraits, figurative theatrical costume – all of which contain strong elements of narrative. Each painting has a story to tell. The landscapes hint at something just over the horizon. Figures look away from the us, creating questions about what lies beyond our gaze. These are paintings that demand close examination – rich in colour and texture, animated by the play of light, shade and movement.

Opera designs: Ernarni (la Scala);Aida (ENO, Grand Theatre Geneve); Hansel and Gretel (La Scala); 60th Anniversary Gala (Metropolitan Opera, New York); King Arthur (Staatsoper Berlin, Theatre an der Wein); Akhnaten (ENO, LA Opera – Olivier Award Winner, Best New Opera Production); Les pêcheurs de perles (ENO, the Met); Mackie Messer (Salzburg Festival); L’amour de loin (ENO, Vlaamse Opera, Canadian Opera Company); The Enchanted Island (the Met); Satyagraha (ENO, the Met, LA Opera); The Magic Flute (WNO). Other highlights: Beauty and the Beast, Shockheaded Peter (Improbable); Ménage à Trois (National Theatre of Scotland) critics award best design; Edmund the Learned Pig, Danny Diva (Fittings Theatre Company); Sink or Swim, Danny Champion of the World, Beasts and Beauties (Spike Theatre); Tmesis, Momento Mori, Anima, The Dreadful Hours (Tmesis Theatre Company); A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (RNT).

In addition to costume design for theatre, film and dance, Kevin also lectures in costume design and production.