9 June 1930 -

BY PROJEKT 26 | 23 NOV 2021

It’s going to be impossible to put into words what an absolute legend Maciej Hubner (Hibner) is in every possible sense of the word. He’s a true artist and living legend from the Polish School of Posters, who never stops creating (well ‘I stop when I sleep!’ he joked). He’s created some of the most iconic graphic designs of the 20th century and lived through the devastation of war the hardship of Communism. Now, despite being in his nineties, he remains utterly modern in his thinking and grounded in the present; he is acutely aware and upset by the current direction of political travel in his country. Yet he exudes warmth, is constantly cracking jokes, and has a rare beautiful light which radiates from his eyes.

Here’s a little recap from the first day we met Maciej Hubner (Hibner) and an introduction to some of the very beautiful posters he has entrusted to our care, so that we can sell them on his behalf. It’s a tiny bit of what we can tell you, but it’s a start! We are determined to do all we can to promote Maciej Hubner and his incredible catalogue of work so that he might receive a little of the recognition during this lifetime that he so richly deserves…

When we first fell for Maciej Hubner’s Polish posters and wanted to know more about him, we couldn’t believe how startlingly little has been written about this great artist. A simple Google will give you two key facts; both of which, when we spoke to the great man himself, turned out to be untrue!

The first is his name. Maciej Hibner was born Maciej Hubner but was forced to change his name after his dad, who was a pharmacist, was imprisoned for a time after the war. The second detail is that he is also a year older than most people think - born in 1930 rather than 1931. The reason for this anomaly was that at the end of war, his mother - in order to avoid him being conscripted as a teenager - bribed officials to change his official date of birth by one crucial year.

Although Maciej’s uncle was an artist his immediate family owned a pharmacy and it his parents had hoped that Maciej would follow the footsteps of his father into this profession. But it wasn’t to be. (Confession here from us - we can’t remember why without watching back the footage we shot, and we don’t currently. have the footage!). In any event, thank goodness for us that he pursued a different course. Though, as his wife says. ‘he would have made a very good doctor’ and we thoroughly agree! 

But his parents weren’t in the least disappointed, as some might have been, by this career change. They were happy for him to be enrolled in university and safely away from the dangers of army life.

Maciej started his artistic career at college in Lodz. But he wasn’t there long as the studio was forced to close. Before long Maciej Hubner had transferred back to Warsaw and was accepted in to Professor Mroszczak’s prestigious studio at the University of Fine Arts. What a class he joined! Amongst his fellow students were Hubert Hilscher, Jerzy Treutler, Wojciech Wenzel, Jan Mlodozeniec, Janusz Stanny and Maciej Raducki. Grapohic design giants! Across the corridor Henryk Tomaszewski (the founding father of the Polish School of Posters) was teaching, amongst others, Hanna Bodnar who became Maciej’s girlfriend. 

Maciej graduated in 1955 and enjoyed a long career as a poster designer which included a five year stint in-house at LOT airlines (a job which he loved).

We visited Maciej and his wife Barbara (Basha) - a talented architect - at their home just outside Warsaw. They moved from the centre around twenty years ago and now live in a rather charming gated community of modern apartments.

The first thing which strikes you as you climb the stairs to Maciej’s apartment is the truly joyful sight of his poster ‘Night of the Iguana’ which greets you outside his door. There are other poster designs of his dotted around the staircase in his block. 

Throughout his apartment the walls are covered with Maciej Hubner’s (Hibner’s) art; posters and paintings which span a lifetime. He’s most recently been painting ships in oils, and created a series of stunning geometric paper collages about music which, as well as film, is a passion of his.

His art studio - which we very nearly weren’t allowed to see as Maciej is very house proud and considered it too messy - is brimming with creativity. We were so happy he let us inside - it’s such an unbelievable privilege for us to be able to see where he works. To take in all the books and magazines Maciej Hubner (Hibner) has collected over the years. To see the pencils he draws with, the paint and brushes he uses, the scissors he cuts with.

When Maciej spoke about his work he was incredibly humble. I had been practising for days how to say ‘it is such an honour to meet you Mr Hibner’ and he replied to Sylwia that he wishes he could say the same back in English. I mean… ridiculous!

He doesn’t have a style he said. Each and every project he would approach as something new and his creative response would be purely attuned to that work rather than a reflection of himself. And it’s true, he can turn his hand to anything; from modernist abstract collages to traditional landscape studies in oil, bold colour-block illustrations and broad brushstroke paintings with an almost ethereal quality For us, however, there is a tenderness which runs through his work. He has a truly magical gift for conveying emotion so beautifully with just a few painterly strokes that the bitter sweet nature in some of his imagery almost breaks our hearts.

It’s hard to pin Maciej down on his favourite works but he did say to Sylwia how much he loved this poster. Don’t you agree… those big black eyes, constructed using such bold simple strokes, express so much.

One of the best things about visiting a Polish home is that you are treated to the very best hospitality. We spent a wonderful hour sitting around the dining table eating fresh apple pie baked by Basha and Maciej’s very own homemade vodka! (Though I hate cooked apples - I know it’s weird and everybody else loves them - but I desperately didn’t want to appear rude so made Sylwia eat double when no-one was looking!).

But the biggest honour of all is that Maciej has entrusted us with posters from his private collection to sell on his behalf. These are the posters which would have been given to him by the Ministry of Arts and Culture when he finished a commission.

They are not in pristine condition, but to us that doesn’t matter. They’ve been living and travelling with Maciej for over 60-70 years. We are going to send a few of the rarer pieces for restoration with our specialist lady in Poland, but we do have a few special pieces which are in good condition and ready for sale. 

We wanted to share them with you here first before they go onto our website over the next few days. Do contact us if you are interested in buying them or would like any more details.

During the Communist years there was a flat rate for poster commissions. Despite Maciej Hubner’s (Hibner’s) immense talent, he has seen little financial return for his talents over the years. We would love to be able to help change that, even on a small scale, if we can. For that reason 50% of the proceeds of every poster from Maciej’s private collection will be going directly back to Maciej, the artist.

If an original is a bit too much of an investment but you would like to warm your walls with a piece of his art, we are also delighted to be able to share a few of his most iconic works in the form of official limited edition reprints. They were printed in Poland, with his kind permission - as faithfully as possible to the originals - on beautiful matte paper with offset inks.

We’re excited to show you more of Maciej Hubner’s (Hibner’s) designs soon and tell you much, much more about his life and his work.

Until then, we hope you’ve enjoyed this whistle stop intro to the wonderful man and his immense talent.

Love Harriet + Sylwia x

WITH HUGE THANKS TO:

Maciej Hubner (Hibner) and Barbara Hubner