Rafal Olbinski (b. 1943, Kielce), "Sans Souci," 2020

Biography
Graduated from the Faculty of Architecture at the Warsaw University of Technology in 1969. In 1981 he emigrated to the United States. Since 1985 he has been teaching at the influential School of Fine Arts in New York. His posters and illustrations appear regularly in Newsweek, Time, Business Week, New York Times, New Yorker magazines. He has created numerous posters for American operas (New York City Opera, Utah Opera, Pacific Opera San Francisco, Philadelphia Opera). In 2002, he made a successful debut as an opera set designer for a production of Don Giovanni in Philadelphia. In 2003, he became an Honorary Citizen of his hometown of Kielce. Rafal Olbinski has received more than 100 awards for his illustrations, posters and paintings. In 1994 he won the international Oscar in Paris for the Most Significant, Unforgettable Poster of the World Prix Savignac. In 1995, his design was chosen for the 'New York City the Capital of the World' poster by a jury chaired by Mayor Rudolf Giuliani. Olbinski's paintings are in major collections of contemporary art (Library of Congress, Carnegie Foundation, Republic New York Corporation), as well as in many private collections in the US, Japan, Germany, Switzerland, Australia.