The Master and the Disciple. Waldemar Świerzy and Andrzej Pągowski

Opening reception on 21.03.2014 from 6pm

We kindly invite you to the hotel andel’s Łódź for exhibition of the posters by Waldemar Świerzy and Andrzej Pągowski. The exhibition is a part of XX Festival of Pleasant and Unpleasant Arts.
With the exhibition we are starting also a new series of art events: ANDELS PRESENT’S

The exhibition will be running through February 21.03.2014–02.04.2014, at the andel’s Hotel Łódź.

The graphic complement to the twelve past editions of the International Festival of Plays Pleasant and Unpleasant have beenPągowski 1994 art posters created by the best Polish designers. Among the artists are Waldemar Świerzy and Andrzej Pągowski, whose relationship, both on the personal and professional level, lasted for a few decades.
In the 1950s Świerzy (born 1931), who passed away last year, was one of the leading artists in the artistic phenomenon called the Polish School of Posters. For many years, he was also a professor at the Academies of Fine Arts in Poznań and in Warsaw. Pągowski (born 1953), his most widely acclaimed student, graduated in 1978.
Since the early 1950s, like nowhere else in the world, poster art appeared in massive quantities on city streets all over Poland. The thematic spectrum was remarkably wide, ranging from cultural (theatre, opera, film) to the socio-political issues. Since an early age, Andrzej Pągowski grew up among the masterpieces of this huge street art gallery. The artistic sensibility of the young man was shaped by the works of such acclaimed designers as jak Jan Lenica, Jan Młodożeniec, Henryk Tomaszewski, Roman Cieślewicz, Franciszek Starowieyski, Wiktor Górka, Waldemar Świerzy. Faced with the choice of his major, Pągowski could have decided to become a painter or a sculptor. But the chance of being a student of Waldemar Świerzy, then in his best artistic shape, determined the choice. He decided to pursue a career in applied art instead, graphic design.
The studies made it possible for the artist’s talent to reveal itself: the ability to design a poster regardless of the subject he was given, the enthusiasm and a peculiar instinct of the street – the place where his prints were exhibited. Like his professor, Pągowski worked a lot and with commitment, quickly becoming extremely popular. The artist has always followed his own, ever evolving path, but there’s no doubt that the expressiveness of his posters, a passion for color, variable typography and seeking the ideas for the graphic depiction of a given subject are those features of his art which are intertwined with the message of his teacher.
Świerzy 1985_2During all these years, the artists stayed good friends. Pągowski, who felt at home in the advertising market of the early 90s, repeatedly collaborated with his professor. As art director of the Polish edition of Playboy, he introduced to this magazine the illustrations of Polish graphic designers, including Świerzy’s. During the last years of his life, Świerzy worked on the new pictorial guide to the kings and queens of Poland. The project arose from the idea that Pągowski introduced. It’s without doubt that the guide, after its public premiere at the Royal Castle in the autumn of 2014, will become an important element of Polish national heritage. I think that the inspiration which came from Pągowski stemmed from the conviction about the outstanding talent of his Master.
Both artists may be deemed world record holders in terms of the number of posters they’ve created. Świerzy’s oeuvre consists of one thousand of works, while Pągowski has already gone past this number. In addition to posters they have created a large number of illustrations, album and books covers, postage stamps, and other forms of graphic design. The exhibition at the andel’s Hotel presents a small, symbolic selection of works by both artists, but even so intimate a presentation will allow viewers to appreciate the work of the Master and the Disciple. The show is accompanied by the exhibition of all the festival posters designed since 2003.

Piotr Dąbrowski