German illustrator Olaf Hajek

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Fairy Tale Painter

Monday, February 11th, 2013

Few visual artists can utter the word “uncompromising” when talking about their work in advertising, but for Olaf Hajek, the two have gone hand in hand. The illustrator released his second monograph this year, Black Antoinette, collecting the best of his vibrant work, created with brushes, paint, wood, and sometimes a bit of coffee grounds.

While he has focused more on art gallery shows in the last four years, with Hajek, there’s hardly a qualitative divide between his personal pieces and his ad and editorial work. His work has a surreal fantastical feel, drawing on an imaginary global folklore that transcends geography. Illustrations for Burgbad bath catalog, a Chopin CD for Universal, posters for Coca-Cola, portraits of the Talking Heads and customized wallpaper for Austria’s Apartment Hotel 25Hours have all the vibrant spark of his African Nature Man or Tree of Ancient Time. 

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