Wojciech Kolacz–Otecki

Wojciech Kołacz (Otecki) is a Polish visual artist working across graphic arts, painting, and illustration, with a strong presence in both studio practice and public space. He has created large-scale murals in numerous cities worldwide, including Lyon, Dresden, Helsinki, Breda, Buffalo, Wrocław, Besançon, Lille, Gdańsk, Warsaw, and Gdynia, contributing significantly to contemporary mural culture in Poland and abroad.

He has taken part in international street art events and festivals such as Creature Festival in Lodi, Italy, FortyForty in Warsaw, and Out Of Sth in Wrocław. His work is often associated with the development of modern Polish muralism, where he has established a recognizable and influential artistic voice.

Otecki’s visual language is rooted in a blend of imagined folklore, symbolic narratives, and explorations of human nature. He frequently uses abstraction alongside figurative elements, creating works that merge graffiti energy with traits of outsider and intuitive art. His practice is often described as a form of "personal mythology", built on symbolic systems and a search for universal, timeless meanings.
Born in 1984, he lives and works in Wrocław.

He graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Wrocław, where he studied in the studio of Eugeniusz Get-Stankiewicz. He currently works as an assistant in the Studio of Digital Printing and Experimental Techniques led by Prof. Aleksandra Janik.

Beyond his artistic production, he has been active in cultural animation and community-based projects, collaborating with various foundations, NGOs, and cultural institutions. Among his partners are the Adam Mickiewicz Institute, art galleries in Wrocław and Jelenia Góra, the Society of Edith Stein, cultural centers in Oleśnica, Warsaw, and Wrocław, as well as independent initiatives focused on social and artistic development.

He has received recognition in poster competitions such as Jazz nad Odrą, participated in the 6th Student Graphic Biennale in Poznań, and was nominated for the National Film Institute Award for Best Film Poster (2013). In 2011 he joined the Pick Me Up contemporary graphics exhibition at Somerset House in London.

In 2012 he realized the "Residents” project under a scholarship from the Mayor of Gdańsk. In 2015 he curated the first edition of the MixMediaLab residency program dedicated to urban art in Świdnica.
His works have been featured in international publications, including Street Sketchbook: Journeys (Thames & Hudson), as well as books documenting Polish street art. He also participated in Sebastian Frąckiewicz’s publication To Be Nice. Conversations about the boom and crisis of street art in Poland, published by Galeria Arsenał in Poznań.