Peter Kľúčik

Peter Kľúčik was born on the 16^th of March 1953 in Bratislava. After the graduation from the Secondary School of Applied Arts he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Bratislava, at the Department of Book Design and Illustration headed by Professor Albín Brunovský. He lives and works in Bratislava.

His domain is a bizarre variety of leitmotivs from nature and, according to his own words, his important source of inspiration is 'design of the nature'. He is a representative of the fantastic realism. In his illustrations we can find prehistoric animals, creatures of various combinations and monsters born in his manifold imagination. His details remind almost ornaments. He definitely belongs among the most suitable candidates to illustrate humorous and adventurous and fantasy books, however, he has illustrated also books for very young children. Precise colour-ink drawing is the most typical technique for the artist. The background is created by a clear composition with situational humour and motivational elements of unlimited imagination. The drawing is stylized, the space is filled and has got also a charge of decorativeness. The artist patiently works on smallest details in spaces talking about heroic adventures in exotic nature scenes with bizarre fauna. His respectable detailed drawings evoke in the viewer association with a huge banknote with hidden corners filled with children's secrets. Nevertheless, his illustrations are clear, using documentary descriptiveness and humorous details, and possessing unique charm. His illustrations cannot be mistaken with others by other artists and they cannot be forgotten. It is necessary to search in them, which makes them favourite with children, because searching is their favourite activity. Complexity of his illustrations is for his young viewer no difficulty, but a motivating moment. Exactly as it is with made up, strange creatures, who correspond with child's imagination. 

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

Beside illustration he focuses on printmaking and painting.

Pippi Dlhá Pančucha (A. Lindgrenová, Mladé letá 1968, 2002, SPN 2007, Slovart 2022); Zlatý kľúčik (A. N. Tolstoj, Mladé letá 1975, 1984); Pištáčik (D. Dušek, Mladé letá 1980, Slovart 1997); Stratený svet (A. C. Doyle, Mladé letá 1983, 1984, Belimex 2001); Kas­sandrina ruka (Z. Juriev, Mladé letá 1983); Pištáčik sa žení (D. Dušek, Mladé letá 1985); Pippi nastupuje na loď (A. Lindgrenová, Mladé letá 1985); Pán Tragáčik a Fantomas (Z. Nienacki, Mladé letá 1986, Ikar 2007); Tancovanie s drakom (J. Fekete, Východoslovenské vyd. 1986); Hudobná náuka pre 2. ročník 1. stupňa základného štúdia ľudovej školy umenia (B. Turza, Opus 1986, 1989, 1991); Babka na rebríku (D. Dušek, Mladé letá 1986, 1987); Hubárske rozprávky (V. Bednár, Mladé letá 1987); Morská hviezdička (V. Žilinskasová, Mladé letá 1987, 1988); Pán Tragáčik a Neviditeľní (Z. Nienacki, Mladé letá 1988); Števko Drievko a Alenka z polienka (J. Pavlovič, Mladé letá 1988); Kamarát Čipko (A. Hykisch, Mladé letá 1989); Rozprávky Čierneho Filipa (M. Ďuríčková, Mladé letá 1989); Pán Tragáčik a človek z UFO (Z. Nienacki, Mladé letá 1990); Rozprávková torta (D. Hevier, Mladé letá 1990); Život a dobrodružstvá Robinsona Crusoea (D. Defoe, Mladé letá 1990, 1991); Pán Tragáčik a človek z UFO (Z. Nienacki, Mladé letá 1990); O Jankovi Polienkovi (M. Ďuríčková, Mladé letá 1991); Pipi nastupuje na loď (A. Lindgrenová, Mladé letá 1995); Pipi na ďalekom ostrove (A. Lindgrenová, Mladé letá 1996); Medzi nami zvieratami (V. Brunovská, Virvar 2012).

ŠVEC, Andrej: Peter Kľúčik a Vladimír Kardelis : Ilustrácie deťom. Bratislava : Správa kultúrnych zariadení MK SSR, 1988. Nestr.
KUBOVÁ, Matilda – CPIN, Peter: Tvorcovia detskej knihy. 3. dopl. vyd. Bratislava : Mladé letá, 1991. [75] l. ISBN 80-06-00319-X.
Umenie pre deti. Edit. Mária Števková. Bratislava : Buvik, 1999. [88] l. ISBN 80-85507-87-0.

Slovník českých a slovenských výtvarných umělců 1950 - 2000. V.  Ka - Kom. Ostrava : Výtvarné centrum Chagall, 2000, s. 233. ISBN 80-86171-05-1.
BRATHOVÁ, Barbara: Slovak United Imagi Nations. Bratislava : Literárne informačné centrum, 2009, s.168-173. ISBN 978-80-89222-75-9.
GURA DORIČOVÁ, Denisa: Slovenské ateliéry. [Bratislava] : Daniel Brunovský, 2010. 327 s. ISBN 978-80-970347-4-0.

ŠVEC, Andrej: Svet fantázie a humoru v ilustráciách Petra Kľúčika. In Zborník z medzinárodného sympózia BIB ´89 a ´91. Bratislava, BIBIANA 1991, s. 157-165. Dostupné na internete:  <http://www.bibiana.sk/sites/default/files/sites/default/files/digital_archive/1989-91_1_1989_slovensky.pdf>.

HUBOVÁ, Katarína: Fantazijný realizmus Petra Kľúčika. In Bibiana. 1995, roč. 3, č. 2, s. 56-57. Dostupné na internete: 

http://www.bibiana.sk/sites/default/files/sites/default/files/digital_archive/rocnikiii_2_1995.pdf ISSN 1335-7263.

1985 Prize of the Slovak Centre for the Book Culture in the competition the Most Beautiful Czechoslovak Books '84 for the book Zlatý kľúčik (Golden Key)

1986 Honorary Mention in the competition the Most Beautiful Czechoslovak Books '85 for the book Pištáčik sa žení (Little Chirper Gets Married)

1988 Prize of the Slovak Centre for the Book Culture in the competition the Most Beautiful Czechoslovak Books '87 for the book Hubárske rozprávky (Mushroom-pickers' Fairy Tales)

1989 Honorary Mention in the competition the Most Beautiful Czechoslovak Books '88 for the book Števko Drievko a Alenka z polienka (Wooden Steve and Alenka the Log)

1990 Honorary Mention in the competition the Most Beautiful Czech and Slovak Books ´89 for the book Rozprávky Čierneho Filipa (Fairy Tales of the Black Philip)

          Most Beautiful Children's Book of the Winter for the book O Jankovi Polienkovi (About Johnny, the Log) 

1991 Most Beautiful Czech and Slovak Books '90 for the book Rozprávková torta

          Most Beautiful Children's Book of the Autumn for the book Život a dobrodružstvá Robinsona Crusoa

1992 'Mladé letá' Publishing House Award 1991 for the book Život a dobrodružstvá Robinsona Crusoa (The Life and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe)

          Award of the Ministry of Culture in the competition the Most Beautiful Czech and Slovak Books '91 for the book O Jankovi Polienkovi

1994 Ľudovít Fulla Award for illustrations for children and youth

2013 The Most Beautiful Books of Slovakia for the book Medzi nami zvieratami

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