Sebastian Kudas



Sebastian Ludwik Kudas (born 31 August 1978, Kraków, Poland) is a Polish graphic artist (drawer), illustrator, and Piwnica pod Baranami's stage designer, graduated from VIII Prywatne Akademickie Liceum Ogólnokształcące in 1997.

Kudas has worked with "Piwnica pod Baranami" since 1995, thanks to Jerzy Skarżyński and Piotr Skrzynecki, as a stage designer. He created several dozen stage designs for Piwnica's performances (also abroad: Stockholm, Malmö, Oslo, Wien, Chicago, Toronto and New York), Piwnica artists' recitals and a documentary about Wisława Szymborska directed by Antoni Krauze.

As an illustrator, he worked with Jacek Kaczmarski, Ewa Lipska, Jan Nowicki, Jan Kanty Pawluśkiewicz and Janusz Radek. He illustrated publications, among others "Epitafia" by Wisława Szymborska, Ewa Lipska, Bronisław Maj, Michał Rusinek and Apologia Balceroviciana and Balceroviciana varia, published by café Nowa Prowincja. In 1999, together with Jan Kanty Pawluśkiewicz and Grzegorz Turnau, he founded "Chwilowa Grupa Artystyczna TRIO" (Temporary Artistic Group TRIO). The group had exhibitions in Gliwice, Bytom, Jelenia Góra and Kraków. In 2001, together with Barbara Stępniak-Wilk and Maciej Dancewicz, he founded "Grupa Apokryficzna" (Apocryphal Group). He worked as an assistant director with Antoni Krauze (a documentary about "Piwnica pod Baranami) and Marta Meszaros (a theatrical performance "Tramwaj zwany pożądaniem" - "Streetcar Named Desire").

Kudas cooperated with newspapers and magazines "Dziennik Polski", "Przekrój", "Zwierciadło" and "Bluszcz". His drawings were exhibited in Kraków, Sopot, Częstochowa, Sandomierz, Tarnobrzeg but also in Wien, Ebenfurth and Nuremberg.

In 1997 Kudas was chosen to Artistic Board of "Piwnica Pod Baranami". In 2007 his work earned him Wiesław Dymny's Award, awarded by Wiesław Dymny's Foundation in Montreal, for versatile an artistic activity.