Roch Urbaniak

Roch Urbaniak (b. 1986 in Kraków) is a painter, comics author and illustrator. He studied at the Faculty of Painting of the Kraków Academy of Fine Arts in the studio of Jacek Waltoś, where in 2011 he received his diploma with distinction (his diploma work, presented at the Palace of Art, was awarded the medal of the Society of Friends of Fine Arts). He paints with acrylics on canvas, and his art belongs to the current of fantasy and magical realism.

Urbaniak's fairy-tale paintings - full of fantastical architecture, lush vegetation and exotic animals, painted with attention to realism and detail - conceal elaborate stories, inspired by the artist's travels (especially in Asia), pop culture and the myths and legends of cultures all over the world. He also transfers painting into other forms: he creates comics and illustrations for his own books of the „Papiernik” series. In 2014 he won the Grand Prix of the 25th International Festival of Comics and Games in Łódź for the comic „Papiernik”. He has presented his works at exhibitions in Poland and abroad - including in the USA and Taiwan.