ABOUT

Dena Novak (b. 1968) is a neurodivergent painter, educator, and mother whose work explores identity, material excess, and feminist resistance through a deeply personal lens. Born and raised in Chicago, IL, Novak began her formal art training at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and later received a BFA from Colorado College in 1991. She also holds a Master of Arts in Teaching and Art Education from Tufts University and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, in 1997. After more than three decades of teaching and creative practice, Novak returned to academia and is pursuing her MFA at Otis College of Art and Design, to be completed in 2025.