The World of Tony Meeuwissen
The new monograph showcases the bold and original work of Royal Designer Tony Meeuwissen, covering more than 50 years of his work. The artist also writes about his life at the drawing board and the inspiration and ideas behind his imagery.
Born in Croydon in 1938, Tony Meeuwissen began his career at 16 in a commercial art studio. He became freelance at 29 with commissions from Penguin Books, Radio Times, Royal Mail etc. Winner of 7 national and international awards, including 3 books, he was made a Royal Designer in 2015. He is, to this date, the only illustrator to have won the D&AD’s Black Pencil twice. He currently lives near Stroud in the Cotswolds.
His work was described by the designer Mike Dempsey as ‘inventive, intensely detailed and full of wit and beauty’. Penguin Books art director David Pelham praised him as an artist with the eye of an illustrator and the mind of a designer, one able to solve visual problems with ‘remarkable originality, skill and panache.’
As told by Peter Marren in his foreword, “Many will have seen Tony Meeuwissen’s work without knowing the artist, for it has appeared in so many decorative forms from books to playing cards, from magazine and sheet music covers to postage stamps (…). To my eye Tony’s work is always affirmative even in its darker moments. It is playful but not saccharine, clever but not conceited. It always wears a wry smile.”
Tony learned his craft in the market place of commercial art. He learned how to handle a wide range of media to develop graphic ideas while also discovering the beauty of typefaces. In the process he evolved his very distinctive artistic language, his own way of seeing the world: colourful, eye-catching, beautifully executed, his work is a product of his unique vision.“
“A wonderful book of an incredible life’s work, beautifully laid out with lots of white space to let the images breathe and the colours sing. And what images – WOW. Tony Meeuwissen has created and collected a remarkable body of unique and personal work, often with an air of mystery and intrigue, as well as nostalgia and history, wit and humour, that is and was, and will always be – totally his own.”
— Stafford Cliff
Folio Illustration agency founder and AOI founder member, Nicholas Dawe, writes: “I have loved Tony’s fascinatingly detailed illustrations ever since I began working with him decades ago. In my admiration, some years back I suggested we put this monograph together as an independent publication.”
More information about the monograph can be found at www.paulholberton.com.
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