Bohdan Butenko, AND IT'S ALL BAD LUCK'S FAULT

15.30 x 15.20 cm - colored inks, paper
15.3 x 15.2 (inside the mat)
Illustration for Włodzimierz Ścisłowski’s book *Trójkątne kwadraty* (Triangular Squares), Wydawnictwo Poznańskie, 1977, p. 38, color illustration.


Born in Bydgoszcz, he graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw. Shortly after receiving his degree in 1955, he began working at the Nasza Księgarnia publishing house as an art editor. It was here that his first books were published in 1956: Julian Tuwim’s *Mr. Maluśkiewicz and the Whale* and Erich Kästner’s *May 35*. Since then, approximately 250 books bearing the signature “Butenko pinxit” have appeared on the Polish market. Many of them have also been published outside of Poland. He is the creator of well-known comic book characters—Gapiszon and Kwapiszon, which he created himself, as well as Gucio and Cezar. He has illustrated and designed the layout for books by popular authors such as Jan Brzechwa, Julian Tuwim, Joanna Kulmowa, Joanna Papuzińska, Adam Bahdaj, Wanda Chotomska, Wiktor Woroszylski, Edmund Niziurski, Kornel Makuszyński, Erich Kästner, Edward Lear, and others. It is not only children’s books that capture his creative attention. He has designed the layout for prose by Gustaw Morcinek, Bohumil Hrabal, and Hanna Krall, as well as poetry by Adam Asnyk, Tadeusz Kubiak, and many other publications aimed at adults. Butenko also works in poster design, typography for popular science books, theater and television set design, creates layouts for magazines and designs for animated films, as well as his own books, which form a unity of image and text. He has won numerous awards, including a silver medal in the Rimini poster competition and several awards and honors in the nationwide competition for the best books of various years. He lives in Komorów, near Warsaw.