Peter Uchnár: Slovakia ⋆ Illustrator

Peter Uchnár was born in Sobrance, an Eastern city in Slovakia, in 1970. Both his secondary and post-secondary education were grounded in the arts, studying at the High School of Arts and Crafts in Košice from 1984 to 1988, and at the Bratislava Academy of Fine Arts and Design from 1992 to 1998. After finishing his degree in Graphics and Book Illustration, he was hired by the department as an assistant professor, where he taught until 2002. One of the most important children's book illustrators in Slovakia, Uchnár has dedicated himself to the field of picture books, painting, graphic design, and postage stamps, and currently freelances from Pezniok, near Bratislava.

From his first published children's book in 1998, an illustrated version of Swift's Gulliver's Travels, Uchnár has attracted a great deal of attention in the realm of children's literature. He incorporates a heroic yet relatable character into each of his illustrated narratives, and ensures that his young readers can make personal connections to the characters he brings to life. It is important for Uchnár not to impose his own imagination onto his readers, but instead guide them through their own understandings of the narrative using both text and image as their tools. He is an artistic chameleon—adapting his technique to match the mood and plot of the stories he narrates—yet he maintains a recognizable style throughout his oeuvre. Uchnár's compositions portray a dreamy fantasy world—thick brushstrokes, rich, vivid colors, and close attention to detail create a visual reverie that draws his readers' attention and evokes strong emotional response.

Uchnár began earning awards immediately after entering the realm of children's illustration. His first book earned him the Biennial Illustration Bratislava (BIB) Golden Apple Award in 1999, and since then he has won multiple awards in the Most Beautiful Books of Slovakia contest and the Children's Jury Award at BIB 2009. He publishes both locally and abroad, with books published in Japan and the Czech Republic, and his book Štyria škriatkovia a víla [The Four Elves and the Fairy] has been translated into English. Uchnár is a prominent figure in the middle generation of Slovak children's illustrators, and his work has been celebrated at exhibits across Europe and Asia.