Jan Młodożeniec (1929, Warsaw – 2000, Warsaw), The Yellow Sea

Biography
He studied from 1948 to 1955 at the Department of Graphic Arts and Poster Design, led by Henryk Tomaszewski, at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw. From 1953 onward, he was associated with the Central Film Rental Agency, whose patronage allowed the future luminaries of the “Polish School of Posters” to survive the worst years of Socialist Realism. Młodożeniec, like other poster designers of that period, incorporated into his works iconographic elements and stylistic features that were unacceptable in official art (deformation, metaphorical shorthand with not always “correct” connotations, pessimism, etc.). In the years that followed, the artist developed his own, widely recognizable poster style, based on simplified drawing, the use of clearly defined shapes with thick outlines, and large areas of contrasting colors, which brought his work closer to folk art.