Ryszard Kaja (16 January 196217 April 2019) was a
painter
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...
, poster artist,
stage designer
Scenic design (also known as scenography, stage design, or set design) is the creation of theatrical, as well as film or television scenery. Scenic designers come from a variety of artistic backgrounds, but in recent years, are mostly trained ...
, and costume designer from
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
.
Biography
He studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in
Poznan in 1984, and earned a degree in painting under Norbert Skupniewicz. His father is the poster designer Zbigniew Kaja and his mother is the ceramicist and painter Stefania Kaja.
His career can be divided into two distinct periods.
Stage and theater design
He worked as chief designer at the
Grand Theatre in
Lodz from 1999 to 2000. In 1994 he was a stage designer at the Opera and Operetta in
Szczecin
Szczecin (, , german: Stettin ; sv, Stettin ; Latin: ''Sedinum'' or ''Stetinum'') is the capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the German border, it is a major s ...
. From 1995 to 2000 he was the chief designer at the
Grand Theatre in Poznan. In 1998 he was awarded the prestigious . He designed more than 150 theater, ballet, opera, television, and film sets in Poland and abroad, including
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
,
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
,
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
, and
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
.
Polish poster
Ryszard Kaja was regarded as one of Poland's best selling and prolific contemporary poster designers. Following in the tradition of his father Zbigniew Kaja, member of the acclaimed
Polish Poster School
Beginning in the 1950s and through the 1980s, the Polish School of Posters combined the aesthetics of painting and the use of metaphor with the succinctness of the poster. By utilizing characteristics such as painterly gesture, linear quality, ...
, Kaja painted his posters using mixed techniques: “I use everything: pen, pencil, ink, color ink, gouache, coffee grounds, tea, ash—everything around me, not just the computer.” He served as juror for many poster biennials including the Italian Poster biennial. He was an honorary guest at the 2015 BICeBé Bienal del Cartel Bolivia (Biennial of Poster, Bolivia). Ryszard lived in
Wrocław
Wrocław (; german: Breslau, or . ; Silesian German: ''Brassel'') is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, rou ...
, Poland where he worked on his "Plakaty z serii POLSKA"
(Posters from the series "POLAND") which included 120 posters featuring less well known towns and destinations within Poland.
References
Polish graphic designers
Polish poster artists
1962 births
2019 deaths
{{Poland-artist-stub