1906 Gelsenkirchen
1998 Esslingen

Anton Stankowski started his career by serving an apprenticeship as a decoration and church painter from 1921 to 1926. In 1927-1928 Anton Stankowski studied graphic design, typography and photography at the Folkwangschule in Essen under Max Burchartz. While still a student Anton Stankowski did his first commercial graphic designs for Burchartz' Canis Agency. Between 1929 and 1934 Anton Stankowski worked in Zurich for the celebrated advertizing studio run by Max Dalang. In Zurich Anton Stankowski completed his "design doctrine", which already included the basic expressive forms he would continue to work with. Anton Stankowski was part of a creative circle in Zurich that included Richard Paul Lohse, Heiri Steiner, Hans Neuburg, Coray, Fischli, and Max Bill. In 1934 Anton Stankowski was forced to return to Germany because his residence permit for Switzerland was revoked. In Stuttgart Anton Stankowski worked as a freelance graphic designer. Then he spent the years from 1940 to 1948 serving in the German armed forces, followed by internment as a prisoner of war. After this dark period of his life, Anton Stankowski began again as head typesetter, graphic designer and photographer for the "Stuttgarter Illustrierte". By 1951 Anton Stankowski was able to found a graphic design practice of his own. In Stuttgart he formed a new circle of friends that included such distinguished Moderns as Willi Baumeister, Max Bense, Egon Eiermann, Mia Seeger, and Walter Cantz. From 1969 until 1972 Anton Stankowski was head of the committee for designing the look of the Munich Olympic Games. In 1972 Anton Stankowski began to collaborate with the graphic artist Karl Duschek, who ran the practice alone from 1975. Anton Stankowski withdrew from public life, devoting himself increasingly to fine art from the mid-1970s and continuing to produce Constructive-Concrete paintings and objects. Stankowski's paintings and sculpture are always informed by the experience he had as a graphic designer and vice versa. Anton Stankowski was uniquely skilled at deliberately deploying the effect of color, line and form to create powerful pictures with a minimum of means. Anton Stankowski created truly memorable logos and remarkable visual design concepts for clients such as the Deutsche Bank, Viessmann, Iduna, SEL, the Süddeutsche Rundfunk, and many others.