Exhibition poster by Andrzej and Dominik Klimowski
The Legend of Polish Poster. The Work and the Personality
Works from the collection of the National Museum in Poznan, Poland
Co-organizer: Muzeum Narodowe w Poznaniu
Panstwowa Galeria Sztuki, Sopot (PL)
14.11.2013. - 12.01. 2014
Roman Cieslewicz belongs to a narrow circle of true legends of Polish poster, artists who created the "Polish Poster School" and marked it visibly with their personality, but not only. He also played a very important role in shaping the visual world of the 2nd half of the 20th century in Europe and globally. Exactly half of the 66 years of his life were spent in Poland, the other half in France. Having settled in Paris, he avidly absorbed the newest trends in art and introduced his own proposals for a new perception of the visual. His works from the Polish period were emotional and rooted in the strong romantic tradition in Polish art, as it was the case with all masters of the "Polish School". The Parisian period was also characterized by high emotionality, but it was based on sources which were more rational and temperate in their means of expression, mainly on Russian constructivism and Bauhaus. He was especially fascinated by constructivism. He collected a considerable number of books on the subject. That was his inspiration for rationalized actions in the field of editorial art, another large area of his activity. Having taken over as artistic editor of "Elle" magazine, he introduced new text makeup principles which were a truly innovative proposal and changed the image of the popular magazine.
Cieslewicz was not only a graphic designer, but he also acted on the verge of two workshop disciplines - graphics and photocollage. Both methods are intertwined in his works. He was an exceptionally sensitive observer. In the surrounding everyday life he noticed visual elements which escaped the perception of others. That sensitivity enabled him to mix very distant source materials in his photocollages, freely and intelligently, such as reproductions of ancient paintings and contemporary photographs from advertisements or fragments of erotic magazines. The virtuosity of his workshop was accompanied by a high load of humor of purely visual origin.
Cieslewicz was very highly praised by the young French graphics which back then transformed the image of French graphic arts radically. Whenever one visited their studios, there were always their photos with Cieslewicz there. He was the first designer to be honoured with the presentation of his works in the main exhibition hall of Pompidou Centre, previously only reserved for the so-called workshop artists.
The Poster and Design Gallery at the National Museum in Poznan owns the largest collection of the artist's works dating from all the periods of his activity. A selection of 130 works is presented at the exhibition at the National Gallery of Art (70 posters, 34 graphic works, 26 prints), chosen in such a way as to represent the widest possible range of his achievements. They are accompanied by his portraits which familiarize the audience with the personality of the exceptional and prominent artist.
Zdzislaw Schubert
Curator of the exhibition