Szymon Szymankiewicz at the 50th New Art Auction

Luiza Poreda, 8 April 2021

Szymon Szymankiewicz is one of the most interesting and recognizable Polish poster designers of the young generation, and probably everyone in our country knows his poster prepared for Women’s Strike. His works are characterized by minimalism, processing of commonly known symbols and sparing colors. Most of his works are devoid of words, thanks to which they are the carrier of content not only local, but often universal.

One of the works of Szymon Szymankiewicz is in the catalog of the upcoming 50th New Art Auction at the Art in House Auction House. This is a print marked as 1 out of 100 copies and was made on munken fleece paper with a weight of 300 g / m2.

 

Szymon Szymankiewicz is a graduate and lecturer at the Second Poster Studio at the University of Arts in Poznań. He designs posters and graphics, and his works have been awarded, awarded and shown at poster reviews and competitions in Poland and in several countries in Europe, Asia and both Americas. The artist’s most famous projects are the anti-fascist poster “Loading …” (Golden Medal of the Polish Poster Biennale in Katowice in 2019 and the 1st Prize at the International Socio-Political Poster Biennale in Oświęcim in 2020) and the poster “Emblem” (distinction in the AMS Poster Gallery competition in 2017, the work was also shown at many exhibitions and in the publication “Art since 1989” by art historian Dr. Stefania Krzysztofik-Kozakowska from the Jagiellonian University).

 

Controversies of the present day

The artist eagerly reaches for difficult and controversial social and political topics, dealing with current issues: fascism, racism and anti-Semitism. They become a warning to modern people, showing problems related to the abuse of power, authoritarian violence against citizens or indifference to the socially unacceptable and excluded.

 

It is no different in the case of the work included in the catalog of the 50th Auction of New Art. “Rzeczpospolita ≠ Rzecz Wspólna” is a vision of a white eagle escaping from the Polish emblem. The poster is an original commentary on the contemporary situation in the country. What is national identity and what do our national symbols mean to us? How do we perceive them from the perspective of the current socio-political situation? The search for answers to these difficult questions today can be seen in many works by Szymon Szymankiewicz.

The artist focuses on current political issues and social phenomena occurring both in Poland and around the world. The style of these works is determined by the intensity of ideological disputes, thanks to which they become a map of current problems affecting social life, a true iconography of modern times. Szymankiewicz is not afraid to raise inconvenient and controversial issues, showing deepening divisions in Polish society, he shows these problems directly, without unnecessary elaboration or embellishment. The lack of artistic aesthetics and the directness of the message leave no doubt as to Szymon Szymankiewicz’s views on the awakening of fascism, the abuse of power by the rulers and the Catholic Church, or the impunity of those who harm vulnerable people.

 

The works of Szymon Szymankiewicz, due to their strong emotional charge and clear worldview symbolism, are a return to the classic school of political poster, and the artist’s intense activity contributes to the revival of the art of poster, which has now been reduced to an advertising function. Szymankiewicz proves that the art of poster still has a lot to say, it can carry great artistic value while at the same time referring to the ideals and threats of the contemporary world, being also a form of expression extremely accessible to a mass audience.

Please see the auction catalog of the 50th New Art Auction at the Art in House Auction House.

50th Auction of New Art
April 16, 2021, 7:30 PM (Friday)
Art in House Auction House
Aleje Jerozolimskie 107, Warsaw