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Maciej Hibner, born Maciej Hübner in Warsaw in 1930, was one of the leading figures of the Polish School of Posters. Throughout his career, he created some of the movement’s most iconic and sought-after posters. His work was exhibited internationally, in cities including London, Paris, Vienna, Rome and Delhi, and received numerous awards. He began his artistic studies in Łódź, but the school was forced to close during the war. He returned to Warsaw and was admitted to the prestigious studio of Professor Mroszczak at the Academy of Fine Arts, graduating in 1955 alongside other prominent Polish graphic designers, including Hubert Hilscher, Jerzy Treutler and Jan Młodożeniec.

During Poland’s Communist years, Hibner enjoyed a long career designing posters commissioned by the Ministry of Culture. He also spent five years working in-house for LOT Polish Airlines. Hibner maintained that he had no distinctive style of his own: he approached every project as a new challenge, allowing the work itself to guide his creative decisions rather than imposing his personality on it. He moved effortlessly between modernist abstract collages, traditional oil landscapes, bold colour-block illustrations and paintings made with broad, almost ethereal brushstrokes. Despite this diversity of techniques and approaches, a particular tenderness runs through his work.

A man of great sensitivity and strong social conscience, Hibner lived through profound historical changes and viewed many contemporary political developments with dismay. He continued painting and designing well into old age, summing up his tireless approach to work with a joke: “I stop when I sleep!”

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