Jan Sawka - Biography

Biography

In 1946, Sawka was born to an architect father and linguist mother, Jan and Maria Sawka, in the Silesian city of Zabrze. His childhood was overshadowed by his father's Stalin-era political imprisonment. Sawka completed two Masters degrees; in painting and print-making from the Wroclaw Fine Arts Academy and in Architectural Engineering from the Institute of Technology in Wroclaw. By his late 20s, Sawka was a star of the famed Polish Poster School and a leading artist of the counter-culture. His oppositionist activities lead to his exile in 1976. Since 1977, he has resided in New York and is part of the American cultural mainstream. Sawka created editorial drawings for the New York Times, numerous galleries have exhibited his paintings and prints, and he has designed for such theaters as the Harold Clurman, Jean Cocteau Repertory and Samuel Beckett Theater. Sawka's works are in over 60 museums around the world and he has had over 70 solo shows at international museums and galleries. His awards have included the 1975 Oscar de la Peinture in Cagnes-Sur-Mer, France for painting and the Gold Medal at the 1978 Warsaw Poster Biennial. In 1981, when Martial Law was imposed in Poland, the AFL-CIO led a bipartisan fundraiser that sold Sawka's Solidarity Poster in the millions to provide immediate support to the besieged Solidarity movement. In 1989, Sawka designed a 10-story tall set for the Grateful Dead's 25th Anniversary in Tour. In 1993, he created his first full multi-media spectacle, "The Eyes" in Japan. This was the beginning of his collaboration with Japanese technology studios and corporations, which includes the creation of high-tech interactive sculptures and monumental installations. At the time of his death the artist was developing "The Voyage," a full-length multimedia spectacle that won the Gold Medal in Multi-Media at the 2003 Florence Contemporary Art Biennial. Sawka has designed "The Tower of Light Cultural Complex" for Abu Dhabi, U.A.E., initially presented to the Royal Family in 1996. He is represented ACA Galleries in New York's Chelsea arts district.

On August 9, 2012, Sawka died of a heart attack in his home in High Falls, New York. He was 65.