Jan Sawka, Photo: Zośka Landers and Dennis Stock Portrait
The Polish-American poster artist and architect famous for his Grateful Dead tour sets, has passed away at his home in High Falls, NY at the age of 65
Jan Sawka was born on the 10th of December 1946, in Zabrze. His father, an architect, was imprisoned during the Stalin era. He studied architecture at the Polytechnic University in Wrocław, and later added painting and graphic design to his major. He lived in Warsaw for several years before moving to Paris in 1976 to study at the Centre Georges Pompidou on scholarship. He became quite well known for his artwork, particularly his posters. He was active also in the counterculture movement and a constant fear of being deported back to Poland led him to decide to move to the United States, and he settled in New York in 1977. He began illustrating for the New York Times and making theatre posters for Harold Clurman Theatre, Jean Cocteau Repertory and Samuel Beckett Theatre. Slowly he began to make a name for himself abroad, keeping his homeland close in his work, such as with his famous Solidarity poster in 1981, which sold millions to support the cause.
In 1989, Sawka designed a 10-story tall set for the Grateful Dead's 25th Anniversary in Tour. In 1993 he created his first interactive media show titled The Eyes in Japan. Just before his passing, he had completed a multimedia piece titled The Voyage set to tour next year with former Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart. His works have been shown in over 60 museums around the world. He also has designed "The Tower of Light Cultural Complex" for Abu Dhabi, U.A.E., initially presented to the Royal Family in 1996. His work has been distinguished by such awards as the 1975 Oscar de la Peinture in Cagnes-Sur-Mer, France for painting and the Gold Medal at the 1978 Warsaw Poster Biennial.
Jan Sawka passed away of a heart attack in his High Falls, New York home on the 9th of July 2012.
See Jan Sawka's works in the MoMA collection at: www.moma.org
Editor: Agnieszka Le Nart
Source: L.A. Times