Peter Uchnár: Illustrator – Slovakia

Abstract

Peter UchnárIllustrator – Slovakia Milena Milutinovic Click for larger view View full resolution regarded as one of the most prominent and distinctive artists of the Slovak book illustration school, Peter Uchnár has illustrated a vast number of books both in Slovakia and abroad. He is devoted to book illustration, printmaking, and painting. Uchnár was born in 1970 in Sobrance in Eastern Slovakia. His artistic career began at High School of Arts and Crafts in Košice, followed by studies at the Acadamy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava. Uchnár was a student at the Department of Graphics and Book Illustration, with the renowned Professor Dušan Kállay as his supervising teacher. After his graduation in 1998, he stayed at the Department for four years as an assistant professor. During this time, Uchnár illustrated his first children’s book, an edition of Gulliver’s Travels, for which he was awarded the prestigious Biennial of Illustration Bratislava award—the 1999 BIB Golden Apple. Since then, he has won a number of both Slovak and international awards. Uchnár’s art production is characterized by subdued pastel colors and soft contours. Darker, richer, and more vivid colors are however also frequently used, and the combination of these palettes, as well as Uchnár’s attention to detail, create a surrealistic, dreamlike atmosphere. As many of the books that Uchnár has illustrated are fairy tales, the lyrical mood of his illustrations enhance the sense of fantasy and mystery inherent in those stories. According to Uchnár, it is very important for artists to be familiar with the story of the book that they intend to illustrate in order to do it justice. At the same time, however, he maintains that illustrators should not impose their own imaginations on the readers; rather, they should softly navigate them to visually perceive the text in combination with the illustration—guiding, for example, young readers with illustrations that are concrete and descriptive, while allowing for more abstraction when the readers are older children or adults. That an artist should be mindful of the story that is to be told and attempt to have some awareness of the audience is a view that seems to have served Uchnár well in his art production. Apart from the numerous awards he has won, he has also had collective and solo exhibitions throughout Europe and Asia, and he continues to be a prolific illustrator. SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY Peter Pan. By J. M. Barrie. Bratislava: Slovart, 2008. Print. Google Scholar Šalamúnova pieseň [The Song of Salomon]. By Lubomir Feldek. Bratislava: Perfekt, 2014. Print. Google Scholar Veľ ká kniha slovenských rozprávok [The Great Book of Slovakian Fairy Tales]. By Lubomir Feldek. Bratislava: Reader´s Digest Výber Slovakia, 2003. Print. Google Scholar Soľ nad zlato [Salt over Gold]. By Božena Němcová. Bratislava: Buvik, 2011. Print. Google Scholar Gulliverove cesty [Gulliver’s Travels 1]. By Jonathan Swift. Bratislava: Vydavateľstvo SSS, 1998. – 64 pp. Slovak Society of Writers’ Publishing House, 1998. Print. [End Page 50] Google Scholar Copyright © 2016 Bookbird, Inc.