Miloš Kopták

Miloš Kopták was born on the 6^th of February 1969 in the city of Žilina. In 1997 he graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Bratislava, the Department of Printmaking and Illustration headed by Professor Dušan Kállay and continued his studies at the Ecole Régionale des Beaux Arts in Saint Etienne in France. He is a founder of the 'ASIL', the association of Slovak illustrators.

Miloš Kopták is a representative of the middle generation of Slovak illustrators, who uses a more aggressive approach in his artistic expression through insistent colourfulness and compositionally limited spaces. A dominant feature in his work is his emphasis on monochrome that seems to suggest a gloomy, depressing mood. His black and white clearly attacks with no compromise and in my opinion this is often more expressive than using other colours. In contrast with this black and white or grey scenery the extremely rich colourfulness of the illustrations stylizes the environment, figures and mood. Although light creates a framing depth of the picture, the images are mostly flat and the shapes are limited, giving an impression of their separation from the background. Everything is clear and visually determined, solid and hard, though, paradoxically, there is an effort to refine the scene in terms of detail. This, however, happens inconspicuously in the background. In the most recent works he has subscribed to a more technically depicted image of figures, the essential symbol of expression has become a graphic symbol, a simple shape and a simple line, together with a phenomenon of playfulness, visual and compositional lightness, which used to be very rare in his works. The artist is uncompromising in the use of materials, techniques, colours, and above all the topic and the story. He is choosing stories fatal, timeless and strong, serious in their idea and feeling. In his work there is encoded a phenomenon of pragmatism. His work is always dense and straight with its message, never hides in codes, neither with his symbolic messages.

Author of the text: Mgr. Barbara Brathová, art historian

Beside illustration he focuses on drawing, painting and photography.

Z kuchyne starého Prešporka (P. Ševčovič, Vydavateľstvo Matice slovenskej 2000, 2005, 2006, PT 2003); Adam a Šišibus (P. Ševčovič, Vydavateľstvo Matice slovenskej 2001); Kysucké povesti (J. Podmanický, Vydavateľstvo Matice slovenskej 2002, 2017); Zábavné oriešky pre bystré hlavičky (J. Pavlovič, Mladé letá 2002); Z kuchyne prešporských vodníkov (P. Ševčovič, PT Albert Marenčin 2003); Spišské povesti (A. Marec, Vydavateľstvo Matice slovenskej 2004); Hody s upírom (K. Petkaničová, Ikar 2003); Moja prvá galéria (J. Bodnárová, Vienala 2005); Kocúr na kolieskových korčuliach (J. Uličiansky, Perfekt 2006); Africké pohádky (K. Sywor Kamanda, Brio - Grund 2006); Moje najmilšie rozprávky (P. Dobšinský, Perfekt 2006); O sloníčati, ktoré sa bojí myši (L. Eiseltová, Modré na bielom 2007); Rozprávky z palety (J. Uličiansky - P. Palik, Vydavateľstvo Matice slovenskej 2007); Grécke mýty (Brio - Grund 2008); Houbeles pictus (P. Maděra, Práh 2008); Malá princezná (J. Uličiansky, Perfekt 2009; v češtine Práh 2010, Dixit 2014); Včelár (Asil - asociácia ilustrátorov 2010); Slovo pred slovom (D. Pastirčák, Literárne informačné centrum 2012); Zdravé pohádky z vlastní zahrádky (M. Dunda, Dukase 2013); Škola po škole (D. Hevier, Literárne informačné centrum 2015).

Slovník českých a slovenských výtvarných umělců 1950 - 2001. VI.  Kon - Ky. Ostrava : Výtvarné centrum Chagall, 2001, s. 51. ISBN 80-86171-06-X.

PUTIŠOVÁ, Mira: Miloš Kopták : alchymista. Žilina : Považská galéria umenia, 2006. [56] s. ISBN 978-80-88730-61-3.
BRATHOVÁ, Barbara: Miloš Kopták. In Slovenská detská kniha. Zost. Ľubica Kepštová. Bratislava : Literárne informačné centrum, 2008, s. 122-127. ISBN 978-80-89222-57-5.
BRATHOVÁ, Barbara: Slovak United Imagi Nations. Bratislava : Literárne informačné centrum, 2009, s. 198-203. ISBN 978-80-89222-75-9.

VESELÝ, Marian: Cena Ľudovíta Fullu 2009. In Bibiana. 2009, roč. XVI,  č. 4, s. 34-35. Dostupné na internete: 
< http://www.bibiana.sk/sites/default/files/sites/default/files/digital_archive/rocnikxvi_4_2009.pdf>. ISSN 1335-7263.

1997 Rector's Award for the best thesis
2002 Most Beautiful Books of Slovakia 2001 for the book Adam a Šišibus (Adam and Battybits)
          Most Beautiful Children's Book of the Winter for the book Kysucké povesti (Legends from Kysuce Region)

2006 Most Beautiful Children's Book of the Summer for the book Kocúr na kolieskových korčuliach (Puss on Roller Blades)
2008 Golden Ribbon for the book Houbeles pictus, Prague, Czech Republic
2009 Ľudovít Fulla Award for illustrations for children and youth

          Most Beautiful Children's Book of the Autumn for the book Malá princezná (A Little Princess)

2010 Most Beautiful Books of Slovakia for the book Malá princezná

Kopták

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