Jazz on the Cover
Guest Speaker: Rafal Olbinski
Date: January 17, 2013
Time: 7:30pm
Place: Walker Ames Room, Kane Hall, UW Campus
Free and open to the public; reception after the lecture
Official opening of the exhibit by Rafal Olbinski
Date: January 17, 2013
Time: 6:30PM
Place: Allen Library North Lobby,UW Campus
Date: January 8-29, 2013
Free and open to the public during library hours
Rafal Olbinski, is a renowned painter and illustrator. Born in Kielce, Poland, in 1945, he studied architecture before dedicating himself to painting and design. In the fall of 1981, he traveled from 
Poland to New York for an exhibit of his posters. On December13,1981, martial law was declared in Poland and Olbinski decided to stay in New York, where he soon established himself as a prominent illustrator and painter. In March of 1982, ìPsychology Todayì published his first American cover. Soon after this publication, covers for other magazines followed, among them ìTimeî, ìNewsweekî, ìBusiness Weekî, and ìPlayboyî. For many years, his painterly illustrations appeared regularly in the ìThe New York Timesî, where he worked with the legendary art directors Jerelle Kraus and Steven Heller. In the 1990s, he created a series of critically acclaimed posters for the New York City Opera. Although best known for his illustrations and posters, he also continues working as a painter, creating beautiful works in his signature style of poetic surrealism.
Jazz on the Cover Exhibit and Lecture Before his international career in New York began, Rafal Olbinski spent 10 years in Warsaw working as an art director for the Polish jazz magazine ìJazz Forumî, designing its covers and layouts. During this time, he created cover illustrations using various techniques, which gave the unique look to the magazine. Working with ìJazz Forumî helped prepare Olbinski for the world of graphic design and illustration in New York and served as a solid foundation upon which he mastered his amazing technique. The exhibit contains selected ìJazz Forumî covers created between 1970 – 1981, which not only represent Olbinskiís remarkable illustrations, but also capture a part of history of jazz behind the Iron Curtain
The event is organized by UW PSEC with cooperation of Tomasz Siebert Foundation
Credit for R. Olbinski picture: Paulina Pulka
