Karol Hiller

1891 – 1939

Karol Hiller, Polish painter and graphic designer, is best known for his constructivist and biomorphic works. Karol Hiller along with Katarzyna Kobro and Władysław Strzemiński is the key figure of Polish inter war avant-garde movement.

Hiller was familiar with and strongly inspired by Man Ray and Laszlo Moholy-Nagy photograms. Nevertheless, dissatisfied with photograms’ experimental character, began to work on a technique that would eliminate fortuity from creation process.

Hiller’s most profound achievement is the invention of heliography in 1930, medium that combines painting, graphic and photography and enables endless graphic effects.

Biomorphic abstract works, along with geometric ones refer directly to emotions and feelings, which in artist’s belief were most important in the work of art.