Born in Poland in 1952, Jacek Yerka studied fine art and graphics prior to becoming a full-time artist in 1980. In 1995 he was awarded the prestigious World Fantasy Award for Best Artist, a testament to his growing status in the SF branch of art.
The precision of his technique stems from a great admiration of 15th and 16th century master painters, such as Jan van Eyck or Hieronymus Bosch, but Yerka would have his audience believe that his surrealist compositions stem entirely from his own “unlimited imagination”. Likewise, he dubs himself the Surrealist Cagliostro.