User:Jan Bajtlik/Jan Bajtlik

Jan Bajtlik, „Self-portrait”, 105,5 × 74,5 cm, japanese ink on paper, 2023

Jan Bajtlik (1989) - Polish artist, graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, privately a lover of mountain climbing. He specializes in painting, drawing, illustration, posters, graphic design, he also created books. He currently lives and works in France.

Early life and education

From the age of eighteen he collaborated with advertising agencies, created covers and illustrations. During his first year of studies, he made covers for the publishing house "Krytyka Polityczna". During his studies at the academy, he also created the famous posters: "Put yourself together", "Men can also create science", "Fuck Racism" or "Spring of Nations". In his third year od study, he went to France for an internship at Michel Bouvet's studio, which was a prize for winning a competition organized by the Center du Graphisme. In 2013, he defended his diploma in the publishing graphics design studio of Prof. Lech Majewski (a series of posters BE HUMAN, READ! focused on popularizing reading, received the rector's distinction and STGU award for the best work diploma) and the book design studio of Prof. Maciej Buszewicz (The Name of the Rose, Umberto Eco).

Career

He drew and painted from an early age. He became interested in broadly understood graphic design in high school. It was then that he created his first author's book, which was published during the third year of his studies. During his high school years, he also encountered the history of Polish posters for the first time, which inspired him to create posters for school events.

His activity book "Typo-Scrawler", translated into six languages, was a success and won the Bologna Ragazzi Award in 2015 (distinction in the non-fiction category). The publication became the basis for many meetings with authors and workshops in Poland, Germany and France.

He also had a lot of success as a press illustrator. He collaborated with, among others, Time Magazine, Gazeta Wyborcza, The New York Times, Courrier International, Forbes Magazine, Architektura magazine, Tygodnik Powszechny and Przekrój.

He is the winner of many awards and distinctions in poster competitions; among others, the International Poster Triennale in Toyama (silver medal, 2011) or the International Italian Poster Biennale (Grand Prix, 2015).

Since 2016, he has been collaborating with the Hermés fashion house, designing scarves, fabrics, blankets, towels, wallpapers, and ceramics. He is also the author of the stage design of the Hermés boutique in Warsaw and Dubai and the graphic design of the Hermés Fantasy Funfair event in Dubai. He also collaborated with the Swatch, creating his own version of Swatch x You, or with the Bensimon. In 2023, he created the cover of the Polish edition of the "Vogue" magazine, inspired by Anja Rubik.

In the texts about Bajtlik, there are often references to Henryk Tomaszewski or Jan Młodożeniec, as well as general inspiration from the Polish School of Posters and the entire heritage of Polish graphic design. He himself, in an interview with Sebastian Frączewski, says:

“It's all mixed up for me. And Tomaszewski and games. I really like Młodożeniec and Wilkoń, but that doesn't mean that I'm directly inspired by them. I rather do it subconsciously. Of course, I played games, watched Disney. I absorbed everything eclectically, but I already used a PC, the Pegasus console was an old thing from kindergarten. Come on, I was inspired more than games by things like templates from the breakthrough times, TypoPolo, things from the street. (...) My childhood books are also a lot of art albums that my parents showed me.”

The variety of aesthetics and constant development in search of new artistic means of expression is also emphasized in an interview for K-MAG;

“I am interested in many things. The type and style of my work is diverse. I am always looking for trying new things. It evolves naturally and over time, with no specific plan or purpose. Works that arise completely from my head and are independent of everything, such as paintings, are as interesting to me as, for example, design projects or illustrations for an original book with educational values. This versatility is interesting and developmental for me.”

Selected exhibitions

• „Beyond Baroque”, group exhibition of iniciative „art+château”, Schloss Waldegg, Feldbrunnen – Sankt Niklaus (2022)
• „Elan Vital”, Szydłowski Gallery, Warsaw, (2021)
• „Lines – Rhythms – Labyrinths”, Polish Institute Dusseldorf (2020)
• „Jardin Particulier” Promocyjna Gallery, Warsaw (2018)
• „Dogs Mix”, 3sec.gallery, Breda (2018)

• „Labirynty Greckie” Szydłowski Gallery, Warsaw (2017)
• Wystawa plakatów, Librairie Polonaise, Paris (2016)
• “Utopies & Réalités #2”, Fête du Graphisme 2016, Cité Internationale des Arts, Paryż (2016)
• Exhibition of posters, graphics, drawings and paintings, Poster Gallery, Warsaw (2016)
• “Che carattere! Le lettere dell’alfabeto tra arte e design”, Galleria Corraini, Festivaletteratura, Mantua (2015)
• Wystawa plakatów, “Dom Słowa Polskiego” zorganizowana przez Stowarzyszenie Twórców Grafiki Użytkowej (STGU), Warszawa (2014)
• “Jan Bajtlik – The New Generation of Polish Posters”, Cristina Dos Santos Gallery, Nowy Jork (2014)
• “Be a man, read!”, Pałac pod Baranami, Conrad Festival, Cracow (2013)

Selected awards

• Brązowy Medal – 12. Międzynarodowe Triennale Plakatu w Toyamie, Japonia (2018)
• Złoty Medal – 1. Biennale Plakatu w Ekwadorze (2016)
• Srebrny Medal – Międzynarodowe Biennale Plakatu w Meksyku (2016)
• Specjalne wyróżnienie na Bologna Ragazzi Award za książkę „Typogryzmoł” (2015)
• Nagroda Ministra Kultury i Dziedzictwa Narodowego prof. Małgorzaty Omilanowskiej za książki dla dzieci i pracę edukacyjną (2015)
• TDC Certificate of Typographic Excellence – Type Directors Club, Nowy Jork (2015)
• Najlepsza książka dla dzieci za rok 2014 – PTW (K2015)
• Award of Excellence – Communication Arts Typography Annual (2015)
• Grand Prix Międzynarodowe Biennale Plakatu we Włoszech (2015)
• Stypendium Ministerstwa Kultury i Dziedzictwa Narodowego “Młoda Polska 2014”
• Wyróżnienie specjalne podczas Biennale Plakatu w Warszawie (2014)
• Nagroda Rektora za pracę dyplomową, Akademia Sztuk Pięknych w Warszawie (2013)
• Najlepszy projekt dyplomu, Stowarzyszenie Twórców Grafiki Użytkowej STGU (2013)
• Srebrny Medal – 10. Międzynarodowe Triennale Plakatu w Toyamie, Japonia (2011)
• Wyróżnienie specjalne – 12. Biennale Plakatu w Meksyku (2011)
• Nagroda w 12. edycji konkursu AMS za plakat „Dom” (2011)
• Nagroda – “Skopje Poster” Międzynarodowy Konkurs Studencki Plakatu w Skopje (2011)
• Wyróżnienie specjalne –“Książka roku 2010” IBBY Sekcja Polska za książkę “Europa Pingwina Popo” (2011)
• Nagroda – Studencki Konkurs Plakatu podczas festiwalu „Le Mois du Graphisme d’Échirolles”, Échirolles, Francja (2010)
• Wyróżnienie specjalne w 11. edycji konkursu AMS za plakat „Mężczyźni też mogą tworzyć naukę” (2010)
• Nagroda – “Skopje Poster” Międzynarodowy Konkurs Studencki Plakatu w Skopje (2009)

[[Category:Polish poster artists]] [[Category:Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw alumni]] [[Category:Polish printmakers]] [[Category:1989 births]]