Illustration Outside Books

Female and male illustrators
Jure Brglez, Ema Kobal, Manca Kovačič, Klara Kracina, Matija Medved, Eva Mlinar, Sangara Perhaj, Tereza Prepadnik, Žiga Sever, Hana Stupica, Matej Stupica, Ana Lucija Šarić, Anže Šmalc

Traditionally, illustration has been closely linked to books. We commonly perceive it as an image that accompanies a text, explaining or visually interpreting it. Today, however, illustration has been transcending its role as an image in the service of text, establishing itself as an autonomous form of artistic expression. Illustrators no longer work solely in the book format, but place illustration in a variety of contexts – from galleries and public spaces to graphic design and the design of functional objects, digital media, as well as original and artistic projects. The boundaries between illustration, painting, design, conceptual art, and even sculpture are becoming ever more blurred.
The Illustration Beyond Books exhibition explores precisely this expanded field of illustration and its ability to adapt to different mediums, materials, and spaces. The works on display show illustration as a highly adaptable and open medium that can emerge in unexpected places and in 
When transferred onto objects and products, illustration enters the realm of everyday use. In the exhibition, this is represented by illustrated playing cards, clothing, and ceramics, where drawing establishes a connection with the utilitarian product, becoming part of its function. In this context, illustration is not merely a visual accompaniment, but actively co-creates the meaning and experience of the object. Such works blur the line between artwork and functional object, revealing illustration as a medium that interacts directly with the user, integrated into the everyday visual environment.
The exhibition also features theatre and music posters, an area where illustration has a long history of conveying powerful visual messages. Poster illustration fulfils its purpose in public spaces, addressing a wide audience and combining artistic expression with a communicative function. In this context, illustration meets graphic design, typography, and even the idiom of comic books.
In comic books, illustration develops a specific narrative style based on sequence, rhythm, and the relationship between the visible and the invisible. Meaning is not created solely in individual drawings, but in the relationship between images, in intervals and time-shifts. Combining visual expression, narration, and dramaturgy without necessarily depending on text, comic book drawing thus constitutes a most complex form of non-book illustration.
The exhibition expands further by integrating a spatial installation and examples of illustration as a three-dimensional object. Here, the drawing is liberated from the paper-sheet planarity, gaining in volume and physical presence. The viewer no longer observes the illustration only from a frontal view, but encounters it physically, through movement and space. The image becomes an experience that transcends the classical act of viewing.
Contemporary illustration is also gaining ground in the digital environment, as shown at the exhibition by the animated GIF drawings. A simple but highly expressive form of animation, it invests illustration with a temporal dimension, rhythm, and repetition. Motion opens up new possibilities for storytelling and experiencing images.
Alongside these broad manifestations, the exhibition also includes illustrations created within more autonomous illustration practices, regardless of the chosen medium or method. These are stand-alone artworks, independent of text or a narrative. These original projects employ illustration not to tell a story, but rather to depict a state, feeling, or mood.
An artist’s original style is developed through a subtle rhythm of lines, colour planes and visual accents that act as echoes or fragments – rather than narrating, they create an impression akin to a fleeting memory or perception. In some works, the illustration opens up a space for impression, with elements arranged non-hierarchically, but rather existing in a tension between appearance and disappearance. The silence of the image, the voids, and the unspoken create room for the viewer's own interpretation, while in other instances the image tends to emerge from an intimate, almost physical sensory experience, at the boundary between illustration and artistic gesture.
The Illustration Beyond Books exhibition raises questions about the contemporary understanding of illustration: what is defined as illustration today, its public presence and usage, and how it is experienced. Instead of offering a narrow definition, the exhibition provides an insight into illustration as a living, diverse, and ever-changing medium that confidently transcends the boundaries of classic disciplines and forges new paths of expression. Understanding illustration outside books also means reflecting on its status – non-book illustration is not merely an extension of established forms, but an independent field that requires its own theoretical perspective. In this context, illustration emerges as a platform for experimentation, visual exploration, and flexibly assembled images, materials, and meanings, not merely as an accompaniment to content, but as an equal and living component of contemporary visual culture.

Curators: Maša P. Žmitek, Maruša Uhan
Producer: Maruša Uhan
Text by: Eva Mlinar
Design: Ajda Fortuna
Exhibition layout: Sara&Sara
Production: Center ilustracije / Center of Illustration
Co-production: Cankarjev dom

CD Exhibitions Programme Director: Katarina Hergouth
CD Exhibitions Project Manager: Katja Ogrin
CD Exhibitions Programme Organizer: Damjan Gorenjc
CD Public Relations: Zvezdana Lazar Bursać
Proofreading. Sonja Košmrlj, MA
Translated by: Anina Oblak, MA
Technical support: Cankarjev dom