PLAKAT, Galeria Grafika’s exhibition of rare mid-century Polish poster art, will close its doors in Adelaide’s East End on Sunday 26 July, marking the final opportunity for audiences to experience this rare collection.
The collection spans the golden era of the Polish School of Posters, a movement that emerged in the 1950s through the 1980s, when artists working under Communist restrictions turned limitation into invention. Unable to advertise in conventional ways, Polish designers transformed the poster into something closer to fine art, blending painterly technique, metaphor, absurdist wit and experimental typography to produce a visual language unlike anything else in the world.
The collection, owned by Sam and Gina Rosenberg, spans more than 1,000 original mid-century posters and has never been officially exhibited in Australia. Now, for the first time, a significant selection of these works has found a home at Galeria Grafika.
When Galeria Grafika owner Samantha Knoll first tracked down collector Sam Rosenberg through a decade-old internet article, she had no idea she was about to unlock one of Australia’s most extraordinary private collections of Polish poster art. “We never met in person, there was no contract. Just a cold phone call, a leap of faith, and a truck!”
“A few weeks after our first conversation, I booked an overnight truck to pick up the posters, not realising how significant the collection was until I started unpacking them, it was unbelievable!”
Sam Rosenberg and his wife Gina spent 25 years travelling to Poland to build the collection, riding bikes through city side streets, descending into basements of private collectors, befriending elderly artists and their families, and tracking down pieces before they were lost forever. A few of the people they bought from have since passed away, making the works increasingly irreplaceable.
The collection consists of circus, film and theatre posters, music festival graphics, cultural and political commentary, public safety and various sports. These works blurred the line between art and design and went on to influence graphic designers globally. Today, original pieces from this era are held in major museum collections and command serious prices at international auction.
“PLAKAT celebrates a movement that pushed beyond traditional advertising, using metaphor, abstraction and hand-crafted techniques to create works that shaped the global language of graphic design,” Samantha explains.
For Samantha Knoll, a graphic designer with Polish heritage, opening Galeria Grafika in the East End was a deliberate mission, to celebrate the art of graphic design and make art accessible, affordable and alive in Adelaide. PLAKAT is its most ambitious show to date, and the first time these works have ever been seen in South Australia.
Exclusive film screening
Alongside the exhibition, Galeria Grafika will present a special film screening of Znaki Pana Śliwka (Signs of Mr Plum), exploring the work of world renowned Polish graphic artist Karol Śliwka, who has designed more than 400 logos and extraordinary creative posters and packaging.
PLAKAT exhibition
Until: Sunday 26 July 2026
Where: Galeria Grafika, Adelaide East End
Hours: Thursday to Friday 11am to 6pm, Saturday to Monday 10am to 6pm (and by appointment)
Entry: Free
More info: galeriagrafika.com | @galeriagrafika
Film screening
When: 6pm, Thursday 23 July
Where: Palace Nova, Adelaide East End
Tickets: Via galeriagrafika.com
About Galeria Grafika
Galeria Grafika is an independent gallery in Adelaide’s East End dedicated to original graphic art. Founded by graphic designer Samantha Knoll, the gallery presents unique local and international poster art to South Australian audiences in an accessible, engaging and affordable way. PLAKAT is the gallery’s debut exhibition of original Polish poster art and draws from one of Australia’s largest private collections of mid-century Polish works.
