emILY:JAN LENICA

Jan Lenica is the author of over 150 theatrical posters and film (e.g. Roman Polanski’s Knife in the water, Shakespeare’s Macbeth). They can be found in many collections and are often shown at individual exhibitions, in Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris (1980), Kunstverain in Kassel (1981), Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna (1982), Museum fur Kunst und Gewerbe in Hamburg (1991).
Jan Lenica has been making animated films, in different techniques since the 1950’s. In the beginning he co-operated with Walerian Borowczyk in making Once upon... and House, which are now considered to be the classics of Polish animation. In 1959 in France he made his first individual film Mr. Head. His next films The New Janko Musician, The Labyrinth, Rhinoceroses and Still Life (the latter two made in West Germany) established him as one of the most talented artists of the genre. The distinctive work of noted Polish animator Jan Lenica is easily recognized by his simple but bold and sometimes surreal style. The son of a well-known artist, Lenica started out designing movie posters for Polish films. Prior to that he had studied architecture and music and art. He began animating with Walerian Borowczyk and with him made several award-winning cartoons. Much of Lenica's work is characterized by his use of cutouts, collage and carved backdrops.