Jan Sawka [Witold Gombrowicz]

Operetka [The Operetta]

[Krakow]: Teatr Stu, [1976]. Offset. 38 ¼ x 26 5/8 in. Very good. Item #POS136

Poster for Operetka, Witold Gombrowicz’s final play, written over a span of 15 years.

Grombrowicz (1904-1969), was a poet and playrwight and one of the foremost figures of 20th Century Polish Literature. Known for his absurdist writing and his staunch anti-nationalism, Grombowicz was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1966 and his novels, plays, and diaries remain widely read.

Operetka investigates themes of exile, totalitarianism, and exile in the 20th Century, and grapples with the waves of fascism through which Grombowicz lived. The work was was produced and staged by the Teatr Stu in 1976.

Jan Sawka (1946-2012) was one of the most celebrated artists of the 1960s and '70s Polish underground. Sawka, though critical of the Communist regime in Poland, was largely able to avoid trouble with censors until the mid-1970s, when his work began to attract an international audience. His oppositionist activities led to his exile from Poland in 1976, making these posters some of the last works he designed in Poland. He lived in New York until his death in 2012 and went on to do set design for the Grateful Dead, Steve Winwood, and others.

Price: $150.00