Rafał Olbiński was born and studied in Poland, where he graduated from the Faculty of Architecture at the Warsaw University of Technology. In 1981 he emigrated to the United States and soon became a recognized painter, illustrator and designer. He has received over 150 awards for his work, including gold and silver medals from the Art Directors Club in New York, and gold and silver medals from the Society of Illustrators in New York and Los Angeles. 

In the years 1983-1988 he was a lecturer at the Temple University in Philadelphia and in the years 1987-2001 he lectured at the prestigious School of Visual Arts in New York. 

In 1994, he received the international Oscar for the Most Significant Poster of the Year, Prix Savignac in Paris. In the same year he received the award of the Creative Review magazine in London for the best British illustration. 

In 1995, his poster won the competition "New York as the Capital of the World", selected by a jury chaired by the mayor of the city, Rudolf Guliani. A year later, he received the Stephan Dohanos Award from the members of the New York Society of Illustrators for the best work of the year. 

In 1996, the American Information Agency commissioned Rafał Olbiński to design a poster commemorating the 25th anniversary of Earth Day, and in 2000, the authorities of New York approached with a proposal to create a poster for the 30th anniversary of Earth Day. 

In 2002, the city of Fondi, Italy, awarded him the "Premio Divina Guilia" for his outstanding contribution to contemporary art. 

Olbiński's works are in the collections of such prestigious institutions as: The National Arts Club in New York, Smithsonian Institute and Library of Congress in Washington, Suntory Museum in Osaka and in many private and corporate collections in the USA, Japan and Europe . 

In 2002, selected paintings by Rafał Olbiński were included in the projection program at the Grand Central Station in New York, in the Great Art pantheon, as one of the attractions in honor of the celebrated Earth Day. Other artists whose work was also on display include Keith Haring, Roy Lichtenstein, Robert Rauschenberg and Andy Warchol. 

In the same year, his stage design debut for the opera "Don Giovani" in Philadelphia was highly appreciated by critics of the New York Times and the Philadelphia Inquirer. 

Rafał Olbiński's works were devoted to many articles in international magazines, such as the New York Times, Der Spiegel, etc. 

Five books on Olbiński's art have been published in the United States so far, with the most recent "Olbinski's Women" published by Hudson Hills Press in 2007. 

In 2006, the President of the Republic of Poland awarded the artist with the Gloria Artis gold medal and in 2012 with the Officer's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta. 

In the Teraz Polska competition in 2013, Rafał Olbiński received the Outstanding Pole award.