Poster Rex Interview
Lars Harmsen and Markus Lange, the visionary duo behind Poster Rex, know about the power of signs. Their posters combine contemporary aesthetics with uncomfortable images from our turbulent times, often in a political and/or socio-critical context. Poster Rex represents pop culture and the enduring strength of creativity and human resilience, the rebellious spirit of Poster Rex provokes and awakens hope.
We were able to ask them some questions to learn more about what makes them tick.
FG: Who is Poster Rex, and what do you represent as a collective?
PR: Poster Rex is a collaborative project between Lars Harmsen and Markus Lange, founded in 2014 after a silkscreen workshop in Havana, Cuba. What began as a spontaneous experiment quickly grew into a nomadic practice: we started by visiting artists and designers we admired, traveling across Europe to work with them in local screenprinting studios. One such early collaboration brought us to Officina Arara in Porto, Portugal. These encounters not only sparked creative exchange but also allowed us to build up deep technical knowledge, which we now share with others.
Today, Poster Rex stands for hands-on collaboration, bold visual expression, and the belief that print — especially screenprint — remains one of the most immediate and powerful tools for communication. We now host artists in our own studios: one in Carlazzo, a small village on Lake Lugano in Northern Italy, and another in Munich. What once began on the road has evolved into a network of creative spaces where ideas can be printed, challenged, and brought to life by hand. Even though I now have my own studios — and increasingly invite artists to work with us there — I still love being on the road. Traveling, meeting people where they are, and working together in different local contexts remains an essential part of what Poster Rex is all about.
FG: What drives your approach to print-making today?
PR: Our approach is rooted in the physicality and immediacy of screenprinting. In a digital world, the handmade quality of our posters offers something more direct and tangible. Each print session is an opportunity to collaborate, improvise, and respond to current events. The imperfections and material traces left on paper reflect the raw energy of our creative process. This analog practice gives voice to urgency — whether political, emotional, or aesthetic — in a way that feels authentic and human.
At the heart of our method is collaboration. Unlike most traditional printmaking, our process is highly painterly and intuitive. While nearly all our posters are multicolored, the color compositions emerge through the layering of different motifs — often from multiple artists. No poster is the same. Each one is a unique combination, a spontaneous dialogue between visual elements. It’s a radically democratic process: we usually go into a session with 10 to 16 different motifs. Everyone contributes, everyone gets overprinted, and everyone is surprised by the results.
FG: How did this collaboration between Poster Rex and the Polish designers first come about?
PR: I had been following Martyna Wędzicka’s work for some time and finally met her at a conference in Turin, where I invited her to join a session. I knew Ksawery Komputery from a common project and trip in Seoul and asked him as well — he and Martyna studied together and are now based in Gdynia and Gdańsk. The session took place in the workshop of Mateusz Żywicki, through our long-time friend Marian Misiak from Poznań. It all came together naturally through shared connections and mutual interest.
FG: How did Martyna’s or Ksawery’s design approach complement or challenge Poster Rex’s usual style?
PR: Martyna comes from a design background, but her work feels incredibly artistic — often appearing pixelated, almost like it’s rendered in low resolution. She uses bold colors and expressive shapes that added an intense visual energy to the session. Ksawery, on the other hand, is a purely digital artist. He hadn’t made a single print piece in over ten years, so he brought a playful twist: his contributions were digitally created to mimic the aesthetic of early game consoles. He even wrote a custom script to generate the imagery — it was clever, humorous, and totally unexpected. Both approaches pushed our process in new and refreshing directions.
FG: The Trump poster is visually arresting — at first glance it’s playful, but then unsettling. Can you walk us through the concept? Why this image, and why now?
PR: The motif was created by Mateusz Żywicki for our Gdanks session themed FIGHT POPULISM. His idea was brilliant: he took a portrait of Donald Trump and rasterized it so roughly that each individual dot is actually a tiny image of Vladimir Putin. From a distance, it reads as Trump — but up close, you see who’s really in power. It’s a direct response to Trump’s recent claim that he could end the war in Ukraine on his first day back in office. We all imagined the smile on Putin’s face.
FG: What do you hope viewers take away from this body of work?
PR: We hope that viewers walk away with a sense that design is not passive — that it can provoke, disturb, inspire, and demand engagement. In times of political tension and cultural uncertainty, posters offer a powerful space for dialogue and dissent. We don’t just want our posters to be looked at; we want them to be felt — to linger in people’s minds and possibly even move them to action.
FG: Why is poster design — especially screenprinted, ephemeral works — still such a vital medium?
PR: Posters are inherently democratic: they exist in public space, they’re accessible, and they can be made quickly in response to unfolding events. Screenprinting, in particular, adds a level of urgency and authenticity — it’s raw and physical. Unlike digital images that can disappear in a feed, a poster can stop someone in their tracks. The ephemeral nature makes the message more urgent. It's a snapshot of a moment, frozen in ink.
