Ryszard Otreba

The success of Polish graphic arts in the second half of the 20th century would not have been possible without him. Artist and printmaker, an outstanding specialist in the field of visual communication, known mainly for his abstract, geometric compositions. Otr?ba linked his professional and artistic life with the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow and, as a professor, for many years he was teaching at the Faculty of Industrial Design. He was the author of an internationally unique program of the Department of Visual Communication. As an artist, he speaks with a characteristic, abstract language, consciously choosing ascetic simplicity, economy and classic elements of graphic material. He described his work as follows: In my prints, I try not to create moral anxiety, I do not force anyone to interpret anything. I am only looking for direct contact with the viewer in order to induce a selfless experience. I create tensions required to look at the picture and enrich the creative impulse. I believe in the creative nature of humanity – that this trait constantly triggers new impressions. I noticed that some of my compositions – even the simplest ones – evoke vivid, visually invested emotions in me and in my close friends. His prints – with their rhythmic, symmetrical lines, almost geometric planes of black, white and grey – are an example of non-figurative art. However, it is an extremely personal art in which, as he himself emphasises, he found balance. He has also mastered the extremely rare and difficult plasterboard technique, which he has been innovatively perfecting (in foreign textbooks for graphic artists this technique is presented as the "Otr?ba method"). He is the author of numerous publications and texts on visual communication, sign and packaging design, as well as on the issues of visual processes and their relationships with visual semiology. His prints are part of museum collections in Poland and around the world, including the branches of the National Museum in Krakow, Warsaw, Pozna?, Szczecin, Gda?sk, the Museum of Art in ?ód?, Museum of Modern Art in New York, Library of Congress in Washington, Tate Gallery and Victoria and Albert Museum in London, Moderna Museet in Stockholm, Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris, Fundacao Calouste Gulbenkian in Lisbon, the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra and many others. - International Cultural Centre, Poland