Viktor Mitic
Viktor Mitic, a University of Toronto graduate, classically trained in European art schools, has produced a major body of work that spans a career of over two decades. Moved by the destruction of the giant Buddhas of Bamiyan – ancient artwork created in the 6th century – he recently developed a distinctive and provocative method. Mitic makes a bold statement and uses a symbol of 21st century – a gun – as a method of creation. Using both celebrities and religious figures, such as Marilyn Monroe, Jesus and John F. Kennedy, he painted portraits onto canvas and then used more than one million rounds of ammunition and various guns to outline them. The project culminated in a show, a documentary film and a book titled Art or War.
Mitic’s most recent series entitled Rain creates an interesting partnership between our environment and art. The entire series was painted outdoors with oil paint, pigment and acid rain. The mixture of natural elements and paint creates a truly unique series that showcases the beauty of nature’s contribution to the world of art and enables an unusual physical interaction between the two. The Rain series was first exhibited at the prestigious Muramatsu Gallery in Tokyo, Japan, in 2008. In 2011, Mitic debuted a painting from the series, titled ‘Galaxy’ at The Koerner Hall in Toronto for the ‘AUTIST’ charity gala. Viktor has recently had many successful solo and group shows of his paintings in Japan, Europe, and Canada, and most recently in the United States at the Armory show in NYC.
