Life and Work
From figurative painting and installation, to illustration and picture-book making, his work has been exhibited in New York, The Brooklyn Museum, Berlin, Dublin, London, Sydney, Washington DC, and Belfast.
He is widely known for his picture books for children, published by HarperCollins UK and Penguin US. How to Catch a Star debuted in 2004 to critical acclaim, and Lost and Found (2005), won the Nestlé Smarties Book Prize Gold Medal 2006, the Blue Peter Book Award 2006 and was shortlisted for the Kate Greenaway Medal the same year. The Incredible Book Eating Boy (2007) won the Irish Book Awards Children’s Book of the Year, and his fourth Book The Way Back Home was released in September 2007 and The Great Paper Caper was released in September 2008. Stuck & This Moose Belongs to Me were both on The New York Times Best Seller list.
Jeffers’ style of illustration uses mixed medium and is recognised for its subtle narrative and use of space in composition. As a freelance illustrator he has worked for clients such as Orange UK, Lavazza, Sony PSP, RCA Records, Starbucks, United Airlines, Newsweek, Wired, Irish Times, The Guardian, Creative Review, New York Times, Kinder and The Telegraph.
Jeffers artwork consists of figurative painting executed on either canvas or three dimensional objects, both found and made. His solo show Additional Information, (Belfast December 2006) studied the balance between form and content by drawing parallels between the arts and sciences, in which figurative oil paintings were over laid with mathematical equations.
As a co-founder of the art collective OAR, along with Rory Jeffers, Mac Premo and Duke Riley, their exhibitions include 9 Days in Belfast, book and the award winning BUILDING.
In 2007, Jeffers was the official World Book Day Illustrator.
Lost and Found became Jeffers first book to be made into animation by London based Studio AKA, premiering on Christmas Eve 2008 on Channel 4. In Australia it aired on Christmas Eve 2009 on ABC1 and Christmas Day 2009 on ABC3. Lost and Found the animation has won more than 40 international awards, including a BAFTA for Best animation in 2009.
In 2008, Jeffers featured in The Times's list of "The Best New Picture Book Illustrators".
In 2012, Jeffers provided illustrations for the UK Kinder TV ad campaign.
Read more about this topic: Oliver Jeffers
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