Joanna Rusin and Agnieszka Czop, carpet Cars, (2005), photo. courtesy of the artist
Joanna Rusin and Agnieszka Czop
Czop and Rusin is an informal designer duo from Łódź designing unique, playful carpets. In their interactive designs, they often merge modern abstract patterns with decorative motifs taken from folk art. Their initial project, Pastylki (Pills), consisted of a felt base with cut-out for multi-coloured discs, to be arranged and rearranged at the user’s will. A similar idea would then be repeated by the artists in other projects, with the shapes of cars, animals, hotspurs, or entirely made out of a jigsaw puzzle. Their works, apart from being produced as single, handmade specimens, have also been implemented into mass production.
Edgar Bąk
Edgar Bąk, Kto Ty Jesteś? - Patriotism Has No Colour
Bąk is an author of illustrations and layout to Kto Ty Jesteś? (Who are You?) – a book by Joanna Olech. The idea behind the book, deriving its title from a rhyme for children, is to come face to face with the outdated approach to patriotic education, and, by introducing simple slogans and their visualizations, spark some reflection and discussion about the significance of one's relationship to citizenship in contemporary society. The overall language of the book, despite being critical is largely comprehensible and attractive for young readers.
Gagani
Izabella Gkagkanis (Gagani), rag-doll
Gagani, or Izabella Gkagkanis, designs fairy-like creatures, from small plush creatures for kids to full-scale sculptures for parks and wooded areas, using recycled materials solely. Her dolls are mostly inspired by the animal world, as the artist points to nature as an inexhaustible source of inspiration. In spite of all of them sharing one characteristic: dreamy faces, created from an oval piece of felt embroidered with long-lashed eyes, no two are the same; in fact, each of them comes with an individual 'curriculum vitae', further emphasizing the exceptional nature of Gagani's work.
Aleksandra Mizielińska and Daniel Mizieliński
An illustration from Mapy, photo: Book Institute
The Mizielińskis, founders of the Hippopotamus Studio, manifest their own characteristic style: colourful, intentionally naïve, childish drawings that show tens of figures and objects engaged in various narrations. As the artists put it, they create things they would want to use themselves. They use hundreds of colours, when they need a font they simply design it themselves, when they want to play a game they invent it. They are authors of extremely popular educational books for the youngest that refer to both the real and made up worlds: check out their S.E.R.I.A. series, Miasteczko Mamoko (The Town of Haveye), or Mapy (Maps).
Jan Bajtlik
Jan Bajtlik, Europa Pingwina Popo, Dookoła Świata Publishing, 2011
Bajtlik is graphic designer, specializing in posters and books, whose publications for children are often created by him from the very scratch. His Europa Pingwina Popo (Popo the Penguin’s Europe) and Sztuka Latania (The Art of Flying) – art books for kids that have brought him awards, show that this activity, on the border of education, art, and design, bears a lot of potential and is a great testimony to the passion the artist has to communicate his own visual language in an effective and joyful way.
Source: Culture.pl. ed. by AM September 2013