Waldemar Świerzy ( 1931 – 27 November 2013) was a Polish artist.

Life

Born in Katowice,

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 populou ...

, he graduated from the Kraków Academy of Fine Arts in 1952. He was subsequently Professor in the

University of Fine Arts in Poznań Magdalena Abakanowicz University of the Arts Poznan Poznań (in Polish: ''Uniwersytet Artystyczny im. Magdaleny Abakanowicz w Poznaniu'') is one of the major fine-art academies in Poland. It was founded in 1919 as the State School of Decorative ...

from 1965 and Professor in the

Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw ( pl, Akademia Sztuk Pięknych w Warszawie) is a public university of visual arts and applied arts located in the Polish capital. The Academy traces its history back to the Department of Arts founded at the Warsaw ...

from 1994. In 1992 the government of Poland issued a postage stamp to honor one of his Cyrk posters, 'Clown with derby'. Swierzy is one of the

Polish School of Posters 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, a ...

' most prolific artists, having created over 2500 posters. He employed unusual concepts with a variety of techniques, frequently mirroring Polish social history from 1950s through 1980s, with a myriad of styles: folk art from the 50s, pop art from the 60s, portraits from the 70s, and TV images from the 80s. In addition, his Jazz Greats series of famous American jazz personalities became so well known that he reissued them in his later years as signed lithographs. The series includes: Louis Armstrong,

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...

, Jimi Hendrix, Charles Mingus and

Charlie Parker Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz saxophonist, band leader and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of bebop, a form ...

, among others. The lithographs were editioned by S2Art. The first group, which came out in March 2003, were of

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, in ...

Thelonious Monk Thelonious Sphere Monk (, October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including " 'Round Midnight", ...

, Benny Goodman,

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of musi ...

, and Dizzy Gillespie.

King Oliver Joseph Nathan "King" Oliver (December 19, 1881 – April 8/10, 1938) was an American jazz cornet player and bandleader. He was particularly recognized for his playing style and his pioneering use of mutes in jazz. Also a notable composer, he wr ...

and

Lester Young Lester Willis Young (August 27, 1909 – March 15, 1959), nicknamed "Pres" or "Prez", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and occasional clarinetist. Coming to prominence while a member of Count Basie's orchestra, Young was one of the most ...

followed a few years later.

Major awards

*1956 - Tadeusz Trepkowski Prize, Warsaw, PL *1959, 1962 - 1st (Toulouse-Lautrec) Prize -1st and 3rd International Film Posters Exhibition,

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, ...

, FR *1961, 1962, 1963, 1966 August -"Best Poster of the Month": 1968, 1971, 1972, 1975 February -"Best Poster of the Month", 1976, 1980, 1983, 1988 -"Best Poster of the Year", Warsaw's Best Poster Competition, PL *1964 - 1st Prize -Film Poster, "Poster of the Year",

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

, DK *1965 - 1st Prize, 1971-1st Prize, 1975-1st Prize, 1977-2nd Prize, 1985-1st Prize, 1987-2nd Prize, 1989-1st Prize -Polish Poster Biennale, Katowice, PL *1967, 1971 - Award, Posters -Polish Ministry of Culture & Art, Warsaw, PL *1970 - 1st Prize -X Art Biennale di

Sao Paulo SAO or Sao may refer to: Places * Sao civilisation, in Middle Africa from 6th century BC to 16th century AD * Sao, a town in Boussé Department, Burkina Faso * Saco Transportation Center (station code SAO), a train station in Saco, Maine, U ...

, BR *1972 - 2nd Prize, 1976 -1st Prize -4th and 6th International Poster Biennale, Warsaw, PL *1975 - 1st Prize, 1980 -2nd Prize, 1985-1st Prize -Key Art Award, Posters -The Hollywood Reporter,

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

*1977 - 1st Prize -II Poster Biennale,

Lahti Lahti (; sv, Lahtis) is a city and municipality in Finland. It is the capital of the region of Päijänne Tavastia (Päijät-Häme) and its growing region is one of the main economic hubs of Finland. Lahti is situated on a bay at the southern e ...

, FI *1985 – 1st Prize in the Annual Film Poster Competition of "The Hollywood Reporter", Los Angeles *1985 - 1st, 3rd Prize -"Jazzpo", International Jazz Poster Exhibition, Bydgoszcz, PL

Major exhibitions

*1960 – Galerie in der Biberstrasse;

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

*1964 – Documenta Kassel; Kassel;

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 ...

*1978 – Poster Museum Wilanow; Warsaw, Poland *1980 – Poliforum Siqueiros;

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital city, capital and primate city, largest city of Mexico, and the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North Amer ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

*1982 – Galerie Oxe; Copenhagen,

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

*1989 – Taldemuseo; Lahti,

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

*1991 – Creation Gallery GB,

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

, Japan *1993 – Festival de l'Affiche,

Chaumont Chaumont can refer to: Places Belgium * Chaumont-Gistoux, a municipality in the province of Walloon Brabant France * Chaumont-Porcien, in the Ardennes ''département'' * Chaumont, Cher, in the Cher ''département'' * Chaumont-le-Bois, in the C� ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

*2000 – Plakat Kunsf Hof; Essen, Germany *2001 – Museum of Contemporary Art;

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

*2002 – Muzeum Miasta Wroclawia; Wroclaw, Poland Member - Alliance Graphique International GIsince 1965.

References

External links

Waldemar Swierzy's Posters at lesaffiches.com. In FrenchWaldemar Swierzy's Posters at ContemporaryPosters.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Swierzy, Waldemar 2013 deaths Academic staff of the University of Fine Arts in Poznań Polish poster artists Jan Matejko Academy of Fine Arts alumni 1931 births Academic staff of the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw