(b. 1979) – culture studies scholar; prose writer, columnist; feminist, social activist; promoter of literacy and urban guide. She graduated in culture studies and…
View profile(b. 1930) – an illustrator, painter, sculptor, poster artist and theatre set designer.
He graduated in painting from the Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków (1955) and in art history from the Jagiellonian University (1954). He is one of Poland’s most eminent illustration artists. His oeuvre in this field includes almost 200 books, both for children and adults, which have been translated into over 20 languages. He has worked with publishers including Nasza Księgarnia, Czytelnik, Wydawnictwo Literackie, Krajowa Agencja Wydawnicza, Flammarion (Paris), Middelhauve Verlag (Cologne), Loewe Verlag (Bindlach), Kinderbuchverlag (Berlin), Parabel Verlag (Munich) and Atlantis Verlag (Zurich).
The artist became recognisable due to the original style of his works: a unique stroke, modelled after painterly brush strokes, and a dynamic colour palette. Wilkoń often depicts nature and animals, emphasising his conscious departure from the La Fontaine tradition; he does not treat them as allegories of human characteristics. In the subsequent periods of his creative work the illustrator made use of diverse techniques: the years 1957–1963 are experiments with liquid; 1962–1970 – experiments with texture; 1978–1994 – pastels; the years 1991–1994 were dominated by 3D illustrations and sculpture.
1959 saw the publication of the first book Wilkoń illustrated, “O kotku, który szukał czarnego mleka” (The Kitten Who Looked for Black Milk) by Helena Bechlerowa, and Tadeusz Kubiak’s “Pawie wiersze” (Peacock Poems, published by Nasza Księgarnia). A year later the ZPAP gallery in Warsaw held the artist’s first individual exhibition. It featured, among others, illustrations which received the Gold IBA Medal in Leipzig. In 1963 Wilkoń created one of his best-known illustration series, for Adam Mickiewicz’s “Pan Tadeusz”, demonstrating his original approach to the book’s themes. Instead of recreating the poem’s contents, the illustrator decided to depict the romantic landscape of the poet’s childhood. This edition’s visual design was dominated by huge trees and lush greenery; people and animals seem almost invisible within it.
Sculpture became an equally important field of Wilkoń’s creative work. He became interested in it at the beginning of the 1990s and called his sculptures spatial illustrations; he wanted them to replace the painted ones. They were to be photographed head-on, so they could be looked at like drawings in a book. The artist’s most iconic sculptures include “Arka Wilkonia” (Wilkoń’s Ark) – figures of animals in wood and metal sheet displayed in various locations in Poland and abroad.
An album edition of The Jungle Book, illustrated by Wilkoń, was published in 2009. “Psie życie” (A Dog’s Life), a book he wrote and illustrated, was named the most beautiful book of the year 2011 by the Polish Book Publishers’ Association, and received the bronze medal in the 2013 Best Book Design from all over the World International Competition. In 2015, an album edition of Pan Tadeusz was published, and in 2016 – a Don Kichot edition with 100 illustrations by Wilkoń. In spring 2019, Dom Pracy Twórczej in Radziejowice held “Akt w malarstwie Józefa Wilkonia” (The Nude in Józef Wilkoń’s Painting), an exhibition of thirty works created on a tablet, co-organised by the artist and the Limited Edition Gallery of Modern Art. This project, initiated on the occasion of the illustrator’s 89th birthday, is considered unique: at present, these are the only nudes by Wilkoń available on the art market. His works have been shown in galleries and museums around the world, from the Centre Pompidou (1989) to the Zachęta – National Gallery of Art (2006), where the exhibition was attended by record numbers of visitors. A large part of his work is held in numerous galleries and museums in countries like France or Japan, and at the Museum of Literature and the National Library in Warsaw.
Józef Wilkoń has received many prestigious awards, including Deutscher Jugendbuchpreis (1964), the State Prize for Creative Work for Children (1974) and the 2005 Minister of Culture Award for lifetime achievement. In 2010 he received the Knight’s Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta; he is also a laureate of the Golden Sceptre awarded by the Polish Culture Foundation.
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