YEAR: 2025 CLIENT: Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw
SERVICE: Book Illustration, Layout, Character Design, Production Strategy
Po co nam sztuka? Commissioned by MoMA Warsaw (MSN) and written by art historian Katarzyna Witt, What is Art For? was designed to translate the difficult language of contemporary art for children aged 6 to 12. The publication treats art as a playground of questions rather than a gallery of answers. Across 140 pages, the visual narrative is guided by five iconic museum artworks transformed into curious “roommates”: the black Sphere, the blue Snowman, the pink Lazy Rope, the yellow Palm, and the red Night Moth. By simplifying these complex objects of art into playful, primary shapes, I created a welcoming entry point for children. These characters jump across five color-coded chapters, blending a visual atlas with creative prompts and “to-do” tasks that invite readers to embrace the beautiful mess of creating.
The artistic process involved a hybrid of life drawing within the museum collection, archival cut-outs, and photo-collages—a mix of digital precision and raw textures that mirrors the diverse nature of understanding art. Print & Production: To ground the project in its physical context, the selected paper features a raw, concrete-like texture, mimicking the architectural material of the museum building and making the book itself a piece of tactile architecture. The book was printed using Pantone colors to ensure high-impact, strong chapter recognition. Layout designed in collaboration with Olek Modzelewski.
This project serves as a strategic tool for institutional accessibility, effectively dismantling the intimidation factor often associated with modern art museums.
