One of Poland’s most talented children’s book illustrators has been exhibited in Paris for the first time.
At the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris, the Utopies et Réalités #2: Les Intrépides exhibition showcases the work of five designers and graphic studios: Peter Bankov from Russia; Xavier Barral from France; Jan Bajtlik from Poland; Cyan from Germany; and Studio Boot from the Netherlands.
Jan Bajtlik is one of the youngest and most talented illustrators of children’s books. Born in 1989, the PhD candidate at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw already has several reputable publications under his belt. He is the author of Typo-scrawler, a book which helps children learn to read and introduces them to the world of typography by focusing on expressive and inspiring letter shapes. He also illustrated Auto (The Car) and Korek (Traffic), two books published by Dwie Siostry. For the book Europa Pingwina Popo (Popo the Penguin’s Europe), he received an honourable mention in the Polish edition of IBBY's Book of the Year 2011. Illustrations from the book Wojtek Spod Monte Cassino (Wojtek of Monte Cassino), published by Muchomor, was nominated for IBBY’s Book of the Year 2012. The previously-mentioned Typo-scrawler was awarded the Bologna Ragazzi Award in 2015.
Besides children’s books, Bajtlik creates posters, visual idents for cultural events and illustrations, some of which have been published in Time Magazine, The New York Times and Forbes Magazine. His work is often socially engaged, and his diploma project was devoted to the popularisation of reading. It must have been successful as he was awarded the Rector’s Award by the Academy of Fine Arts and the Award for the Best Diploma Project by STGU (the Polish Association of Applied Graphic Designers).
Utopies et Réalités #2: Les Intrépides
15th January to 7th February 2016
Cité Internationale des Arts
18 Rue de l'Hôtel de Ville, 75004 Paris
Sources: bajtlik.eu, fldd.pl, institutpolonais.fr, translated by OK, 28 Jan 2016