Viera Gergeľová

Viera Gergeľová was born on the 3^rd of November 1930 in the town of Nové Zámky. In 1948-1952 she studied at the Secondary School of Applied Arts in Prague with Professor Dillinger and in 1952-1959 at the Academy of Fine Arts in Bratislava, the Department of Illustration and Printmaking headed by Professor Vincent Hložník. She died on the 23^rd of August 2004 in Bratislava.

Viera Gergeľová was awarded a Golden Apple for her illustrations for the book Čertov mlynček (The Devil's Mill) at the Biennial of Illustrations Bratislava 1989. Her focus was especially the illustration for very young children. Her artistic view is based on imagination which leads to lyrical scenes often including poetic decorativeness in her painterly expression. Her colours can be contrastive and shiny or subdued and disappearing in the background. From wood blocks and etchings she slowly moved to lithographs. Her work was primarily figurative, her images often shifted to the symbolic level with magical, mysterious dimension and ethereal lightness. In stories about animals she creates an intimate environment, allowing them to express themselves with child-like naivety, which she compensate by placing her figures in a real world of human beings. On one hand her work is lyrical and poetical an on the other hand it is absolutely concrete, almost realistic, although she questions it with a cute and clear approach to her fairy tale figures. Artistic contrasts are engaging in her works - clearly depicted story and figures on one hand, and dreams and visions leading to elegant illustrations evoking images full of lyrics and poetics on the other hand. The artist illustrated fairy tales and stories, which were notorious and extraordinarily popular in the 80s. She was one of those who children knew by name, since they were meeting her figures, small heroes very often not only in books but also in TV, through which they reached wider audience. The strong point of the artist was the fact, that she perceived the child as an equal partner and in the same way she considered the figures, which she drew and painted. They were becoming her small friends, who began to live on two levels: in books and in TV: Her approach to them was never superior, as if she was “flattering” them with her approach or as if she was “on their side”. This phenomenon made nice, almost civil figures of them, which easily coexisted with children, like their friends from the street.

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

Beside illustration her focus was on painting and printmaking.

Osie hniezdo (K. Lazarová, Mladé letá 1959); Do školy (Ľ. Podjavorinská, Mladé letá 1959, 1967, 1971, 1980, 1987); Zuzanka Hraškovie (P. O. Hviezdoslav, Mladé letá 1961); Čin-čin (Ľ. Podjavorinská, Mladé letá 1961, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1977, 1984, 1991, Ikar 1999); Dobrodružstvá s Kolieskom (M. Ferko, Mladé letá 1963); Snehový strom a iné dobrodružné rozprávky (M. Ferko, Mladé letá 1963); Rozprávky spod slnečníka (Z. Klátik, Mladé letá 1964, 1969); Der Zauberscherben (M. Ferko, Artia 1966); Kocúrik zlatá labka : Bieloruské rozprávky (M. Odran, Mladé letá 1967, 1977); Chorý medvedík (Ľ. Podjavorinská, Mladé letá 1968); Tri prasiatka (M. Rázusová-Martáková, Mladé letá 1969); Puf a Muf (N. Tánska, Mladé letá 1972, 1974, 1983); Rímske príbehy (Mladé letá 1980, 1981); Čertov mlynček (R. Roine, Mladé letá 1988).

HOLEŠOVSKÝ, František: Besedy o ilustráciách a ilustrátoroch. Bratislava : Mladé letá, 1980, s. 119-126.

Čeští a slovenští ilustrátoři knih pro malé děti. Praha : Albatros - Bratislava : Mladé letá, 1980, s. 68-69.

KUBOVÁ, Matilda – CPIN, Peter: Tvorcovia detskej knihy. 3. dopl. vyd. Bratislava : Mladé letá, 1991. [75] l. ISBN 80-06-00319-X.

Slovník českých a slovenských výtvarných umělců 1950 - 1998. II.  D – G. Ostrava : Výtvarné centrum Chagall, 1998, s. 345. ISBN 80-86171-02-7.
KRIŠKA, Fedor: Viera Gergeľová. In Slovenská detská kniha. Zost. Ľubica Kepštová. Bratislava : Literárne informačné centrum, 2008, s. 48-51. ISBN 978-80-89222-57-5.
BRATHOVÁ, Barbara: Slovak United Imagi Nations. Bratislava : Literárne informačné centrum, 2009, s. 72-77. ISBN 978-80-89222-75-9.

Viera Gergeľová. Ján Lebiš. Zohor : Virvar, 2017. 125, 129 s. ISBN 978-80-89693-11-5.

1961 'Mladé letá' Publishing House Award 1960 for the book Čin-čin (Cheep-Cheep) 
1965 Honorary Mention in the Most Beautiful Book Competition for the book Snehový strom a iné dobrodružné rozprávky (The Snow Tree and Other Adventure Fairy Tales), Leipzig, Germany
1973 Honorary Mention in the competition Most Beautiful Czechoslovak Books '72 for the book Puf a Muf (Puff and Muff)
          'Mladé letá' Publishing House Award 1972 for the book Puf a Muf
1982 Martin Benka Award
1988 Ľudovít Fulla Award for illustrations for children and youth
1989 Golden Apple BIB ’89 for illustrations of the book Čertov mlynček (The Devil's Mill)

1990 Honorary Mention in the competition the Most Beautiful Czech and Slovak Books ´89 for the book Čertov mlynček

sk.wikipedia

totojegaleria.sk