Józef Szajna

Born in 1922 and died in 2008, Jozef Szajna was a Polish painter, scenographer and theorist.

Jozef Szajna studied at the Academy of Fine Arts of Krakow before getting enrolled in the Polish army. He was taken prisoner and sent to the concentration camps of Auschwitz and Buchenwald. Since the 50s, He teaches at the Academy of Fine Arts of Krakow and at the Academy of Fine Arts of Warsaw.

Jozef Szajna founded the theatre Ludowy in Nowa Huta and the Studio Centrum Sztuki in Warsaw. He is an honorable member of the International Association of Artists of Plastics arts at the UNESCO. He has obtained several prizes including the grand order of restored Poland, the 1st, 2nd and 3rd prize from the Ministry of Culture and the World Culture Prize.

His pieces are exhibited in numerous museum collections including at the National Museum of Warsaw and at the Center of Polish Scultpture of Orosk.