Out of the Ordinary

Out of the Ordinary is the first substantial overview of Polish design. It examines the work of 36 key figures, from Stanislaw Wyspianski, the early modernist furniture and interior designer, to Wojciech Wybieralski, one of the first designers to emerge from Poland's turbulent transition from a Communist to a capitalist economy in the 1990s. The book is composed of chronological sections, each introduced by a short essay discussing the works in relation to the relevant phase in Polish history. Examples of furniture design, graphic design (including posters), textiles, clothing, ceramics and vehicle design are all included here, reproduced in more than 350 color photographs: among them, the batik textiles of Antoni Buszek; the glassware of Michal Titkow; the hand-forged metal works of Julia Keilowa; Kazimierz Zembrzuski's PM36 steam engine; Marian Sigmund's Bent Furniture chairs; the elegant animal ceramics of Mieczylaw Naruszewicz; and the women's fashionwear of Jerzy Antkowiak.