ZBIGNIEW BIELAK | Master of Detail. Album Cover Art 2010 – 2026
À propos de l’exposition
Zbigniew M. Bielak (born in Kraków in 1980) Architect, illustrator, artist. Alongside Rosław Szaybo, currently the world's most recognised Polish designer of album covers for rock and metal bands. Author of album artwork for legendary groups Carcass, Darkthrone, Paradise Lost, Mayhem and Body Count – Ice-T's heavy metal project.
In the artist's musical portfolio we find both well-known veterans of the scene, such as Absu, Vader and Gorguts, as well as relatively younger artists such as Ghost, Watain, Imperial Triumphant and Portal, along with stage designs for Ghost and Ozzy Osbourne.
Although the albums of the bands he designs for are very contemporary music, Bielak's works echo aesthetics from millennia of art and architectural history – from antiquity, through the Renaissance and Baroque, to 20th-century work, primarily European. In his art, metaphysics meets science, biology meets the absolute, and the cosmos meets commentary on the present. This wide range of inspirations is characterised by devotion to detail, and the metaphorical narrative requires the viewer's time and concentration. That is why the exhibition will present large-scale reproductions of the artist's paintings, drawings and graphics, used as album covers, which accurately show their intricate detail and remarkable complexity. Original drawings and sketches by the artist will also be shown. Both those connected with his music-related work and those from his private practice, in which precision of line meets organic expressiveness of form and interpretive freedom, spanning between spirituality, archetype and culture.
His works have been shown in solo exhibitions in Denmark (2013), the Netherlands (2014), Switzerland (2014), Iceland (2015), Italy (2015), the United Kingdom (2015), Norway (2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2024, 2025) and Poland (2017, 2019, 2024, 2025, 2026).
The artist's works have won recognition in many industry competitions, including “The Heavy Music Awards 2019”, U.K. (Ghost “Prequelle” – 1st Prize) and “30/30. Competition for the Best Polish Album Cover” (Carcass “Torn Arteries” – Audience Award, and Ghost “Impera” – 1st Prize, Audience Award and Cover of the Decade title (2023).
https://zbigniewbielak.bigcartel.com/
Opening | 5.11.2026 | Thursday | 6:00 p.m. Exhibition duration | 5.11.2026 – 4.12.2026 Opening hours | Tuesday – Sunday | 10:00 – 18:00
