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Artist Statement / Bio
Born in Germany, Tatjana Hutinec grew up and studied art in Zagreb, Croatia. From a very young age Tatjana apprenticed with Ana Hutinec, a master sculptor and painter who was her role model and mentor. Since 1990-s, displaced by the Homeland war in Croatia, Tatjana has been living in Toronto.
Tatjana has been developing her art practice for over 40 years. The experience of migration has deeply influenced her artistic perspective.
Her skyscapes and seascapes paintings explore the impermanence of the clouds moved by the wind and how their shapeshifting effects the light, colour and atmosphere changes. These paintings also allude to digital assimilation—by the data-driven cloud systems that can obscure personal and cultural identity.
Through figurative and allegorical imagery inspired by Croatian heritage Hutinec reflects and celebrates her Croatian roots and raises a question about preserving cultural identity while responding to new environments.
Hutinec is a painter, sculptor and wearable art creator, who organizes art exhibitions, leads workshops and collaborates with communities.
Fields of Interest and inspiration include mythology, symbolism, folklore, human nature, meditation, observing clouds and connecting to nature through wind and water activities such as kiteboarding and sailing.
Tatjana’s artwork has been featured on TV (CBC, OMNI), in newspaper editorials (Toronto Star, Vecernji list-Zagreb) and books (Contemporary Ceramics in Croatia) and used in film productions shooting in Toronto. Public art commissions include sculptural installation for Drake Hotel Devonshire, Luminato Festival of Art at Harbourfront and paintings for the City of Toronto’s Street Art program.