Illustrator Nominee: Croatia

Svjetlan Junaković
Croatia, Illustrator

Svjetlan Junaković was born in Zagreb, Croatia in January 1961. He graduated in sculpture at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera in Milan in 1985; in 1990, however, following a period in Paris at the studio of Cité Internationale des Arts he became interested in contemporary French illustration. Since then he has illustrated over 300 books, publishing not only in Croatia but with publishers all over Europe and in the USA,Australia and Japan. He has also illustrated books for adults, school textbooks, posters and newspapers and periodicals. He has exhibited his work all over the world and has had solo exhibitions in Munich, Budapest, Lisbon, Zagreb and other cities, and has received international awards and acclaim. In 2001 his Animagicals (text by Carol Diggory Shields) was in the top ten Amazon.com editor's choice list.

Junaković's training leaves him in command of a variety of styles of expression and media, and he puts different techniques to good use in his books. As well as paint, he incorporates collage into his pictures to give them added meaning and weight. Often his brushstrokes appear uneven, the paint surface is scratched and figures are slightly stylised, appearing almost naively drawn, imparting a ludic quality to his work, which serves to intensify whatever atmosphere or emotions he intends to convey. Wasser, Ski und Sportkanonen is one of a series of oblong books playfully linking animals and insects to human sporting activities. The series has been published in more than 20 languages.

On the other hand, Gran libro de los retratos de animales is stylistically far more mannered, although retaining the light-hearted quality of other publications, demonstrated in his faux-serious 'portraits' of animals in human-like poses painted in the artistic style of many periods. Through these he provides a satirical commentary on the foibles of human nature.

Critics and commentators are united in their admiration for Junaković's versatility and attention to detail, qualities which have ensured the success of his books in an international market.