Michał Kliś

About artist

Born
13.09.1945
Country
Poland

Born in Bielsko-Biała, 1945; a graduate of Katowice’s Faculty of Graphic Art of the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow, from which he graduated in 1974 (major in Poster Art under Professor Tadeusz Grabowski and minors in Painting under Professor Andrzej Seweryn Kowalski and Book Design under Professor Stanisław Kluska).

An educator, professor and Vice-Chancellor of the Academy of Fine Arts in Katowice (2001–1905).

Paints watercolour and easel paintings; a printmaker and poster artist; collaborates with theatres and publishing houses. He has devised his own recognizable method of expression, synthesis, and brevity in his paintings and a unique style whereby his posters are imparted fairy-tale qualities reminiscent of the folk traditions of the mountainous region of Beskidy.

Winner of logo design competitions, including competitions to design a logo for Aqua S.A. Bielsko-Biała (1991), the Banialuka Puppet Theatre (1994), the Festival of Polish Composers in Bielsko-Biała (1996), the Province of Silesia (2001), the International Conference Towards a Democratic Society organized under the auspices of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the European Solidarity Centre in Gdańsk (First Prize, 2008).

Winner of several prestigious awards in the fields of poster art and applicable art. These include: the Silver Medal at the International Biennale of Applied Art in Brno (1986), the Gold Medal at the Polish Poster Biennale in Katowice (1987, 1999, 2001); the Award of the Polish Association of Visual Artists (2003), the Speaker of the Polish Senate Award for his poster designed to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the pontificate of John Paul II (1998).

In 2001, he was awarded the Leaders' Lodge Prize presented by the Editorial Board of Trybuna Śląska. He has also received other awards including the Senior Award of the Mayor of Katowice, the Icarus Award of the Mayor of Bielsko-Biała, the Bronze Medal at the International Triennial of Theatrical Poster in Sofia (2001); the Wojciech Korfanty Award, the Karol Miarka Award (2003); the Award of the Minister of Culture, the Medal of the National Education Committee and the Silver Gloria Artis Medal (2005). In 2007 he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta.

His works can be found in museums and private collections in many places around the world including Bielsko-Biała, Poznań, Wilanów, Japan, Mexico, Finland (Lathi), the US (in the collections of the United Nations in New York and the Library of the University of Pennsylvania), Australia (Royal Academy in Sydney) and also the Vatican, Bulgaria and Algeria.

Works

Michał Kliś

Bulls I

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Michał Kliś

Bulls II

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Michał Kliś

Misterium

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Michał Kliś

Courting

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Michał Kliś

The Red

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Michał Kliś

Landscape

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Michał Kliś

Blur

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Michał Kliś

Composition 1

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Michał Kliś

Mountain Landscape (Storm)

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Michał Kliś

Recollection IV

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Michał Kliś

Recollection which wasn't

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Michał Kliś

Anticipation I

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Michał Kliś

Anticipation II

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Michał Kliś

Recollection I

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Michał Kliś

In the barn

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