By graphic designer and by theme

Henryk Tomaszewski

Born in Warsaw in 1914, Henryk Tomaszewski studied fine arts there from 1934 to 1939 and created his first poster in 1936. After the war, he worked for satirical magazines and began collaborating with Eryk Lipinski on film posters with Film Polski. Henryk Tomaszewski was Director of the Warsaw School of Fine Arts for 35 years.

Henryk Tomaszewski won first prize at the Sao Paulo International Biennial in 1963. At the Warsaw International Poster Biennial, he won the silver medal in 1966, the gold medal in 1970, and the gold and silver medals in 1988. He won the bronze medal at the Polish National Poster Biennial in Katowice in 1994. He won the gold medal in 1967, the silver medal in 1975, and the Grand Prix in 1979, 1987, and 1989 at the Lahti Biennial in Finland.

An Honorary Member of the Royal Society of Arts in London, and a professor and director at the Faculty of Graphic Arts in Warsaw from 1952 to 1985, his classes were attended by numerous graphic designers from all over the world.

Tomaszewski accumulated distinctions from the early 1950s: the Polish Government's National Prize (1953), the Polish Prime Minister's Prize (1958), First Prize at the Sao Paulo Art Biennale (1963), the Gold Medal in Leipzig (1965), the Silver Medal at the Warsaw International Poster Biennale (1966), and an appointment as "Honorary Designer for Industry" by the Royal Society of Arts in London in 1976, 1st Prize at the Lahti Poster Biennale in Finland (1979), 1st Prize at the Colorado International Poster Exhibition (1981), Alfred Jurzykowski Foundation Prize in New York (1984), Icograda Excellence Award (1986), Gold and Silver Medals at the Warsaw International Poster Biennale (1988), City of Warsaw Prize (1989), Bronze Medal at the Toyama International Poster Triennial in Japan (1991).

One gets the impression that Tomaszewski began his career at a mature stage that, for many, would be a satisfying endpoint. His early works are an affirmation of the accuracy and purity of evidence... / ... From a certain point in the early 1960s, Tomaszewski began a joyful slide toward immaturity, toward the kind of carelessness and carelessness that sometimes allows young people to burst through the sky, to their great astonishment. ... / ... Miroslaw Ratajczak.

Henryk Tomaszewski, making posters isn't just about playing with shapes and colors; it's above all about knowing how to convey ideas and information, expressing a point of view, taking a position on a subject, all presented in an aesthetic manner.

Henryk Tomaszewski died in 2005.