Pionty has developed a synthetic style, whereby he efficiently plays with elements of popular culture and combines succinctness with calculated decorativeness. Pionty’s projects frequently assume the character of a visual game, in which highbrow and lowbrow content is placed side by side; on the cover of the monthly Architektura — the Kultura w budowie (Culture under construction) edition — we see a patch of white containing a schematic Frederic Chopin monument from Warsaw’s Łazienki Park contrasted with a shakily sketched red circulatory system inside the figure of a human body. In this way, Polish national culture is 'violated' by the trifling and seemingly meaningless intervention of the artist.
Even more provocative was Pionty’s poster for Michał Marczak’s renowned film Fuck for Forests; it features a photograph of a woman, in heavy make-up and wearing bright red nail polish, grasping the trunk of a lush palm tree with its phallic connotations.
The poster’s exaggerated colour scheme and message, which may be considered sexist and borderline pornographic (the film discusses how the porn industry could save the world), place it firmly in the anti-aesthetic trend which feeds off the trash style of the 80s and 90s.
Humour, irony, provocation and stylistic clashes are decisive factors in the popularity of Pionty’s projects. The attractiveness of these factors undoubtedly come from the artist’s refusal to use overly esoteric cultural codes, making his message accessible to a wide audience.
Pionty’s expertise in creating clear, resonant works, coupled with his ability to skilfully and subtly introduce pop culture motifs, have made his style distinctive and representative of all his works, including book publications and comprehensive corporate identity systems for cultural institutions.
Pionty began his career as a functional graphic artist when he was collaborating with snowboard magazine Dosdedos and lifestyle periodical Fluid. He was inspired by the experimental work of graphic guru of the American skateboarding scene, David Carson, and English graphic designer Neville Brody (former art director of the cult magazine The Face).
Pionty developed his fascination with avant-garde aesthetics and new means of expression while working on the layout of A4, a progressive monthly on lifestyle, fashion and art. This was the first periodical in Poland to promote an original and modern approach to comprehensive design and visual culture. For Pionty, the end of the 90s spelled creative freedom, and this formless context gave artists a sense of being pioneers in their fields of activity. Speaking to culture.pl, Pionty says:
I would cut things out, scan things, make collages and photomontages. There was a kind of nonchalance, a relaxed freedom to it all. Today we have to deal with a more established situation and a plethora of ideas.
Pionty’s interest in creating periodicals with an distinctive and synthetic visual character (which gives them 'object' status) continued with his work on occasional magazine Format P. The artist opened a more traditional workshop, where he created covers and layouts for books, including the catalogue for Sara Lipska’s first exhibition at the National Museum in Warsaw.
