Mieczysław Szczuka

Teresa Żarnower (1895-1950) was Mieczysław Szczuka’s partner in both life and art. She belonged to the interwar period with its constructivist avant-garde environment and is considered a pioneer of this trend in Poland. She was a co-creator of the magazine Blok. 

In her posters and photomontages she combined her political engagement and picks of the avant-garde. Żarnower also designed covers for left-wing publications, including Vladimir Mayakovsky’s Poems (1927), which remains a classical example of modern cover design. She combined the author’s photograph with vertical and horizontal divisions. Żarnower’s most recognised poster is probably the parliamentary election campaign poster designed for Worker-Peasant Unity (1928), which shows the punishing fist of the workers’ society hitting the wall of a prison.