Viktor Mitic , University of Toronto graduate artist, classically trained in art schools in Europe, Mitic has produced a major body of work that spans a career of over two decades. For a number of years, he was painting non-representational paintings using natural elements such as rain and hail to render surfaces of the paintings in oils on canvas. Mitic has successfully integrated various materials into his recent body of work: charcoal, graphite, oil, acrylic, watercolour, pen and ink, and japanese traditional natural pigment.

He has recently developed a distinctive, some would say provocative, method; he paints portraits of international iconic images and later shoots the outline of the figures using various weapons and live ammunition. Moved by  the destruction of the giant Buddhas of Bamiyan - ancient artwork created in the 6th century - 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, 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 create 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. 

Rain  series, first exhibited at a prominent Muramatsu Gallery in Tokyo, Japan in 2008. In 2011 , Mitic debuted a  paintings from the series, titled  ‘Galaxy’ at The Koerner Hall  in Toronto for a charity gala.  The completed series titled “ Rain Dance “ was exhibited in the fourth quarter of 2011 and it coincided with the launch of a book and a documentary dvd of the same title.

Mitic’s work can be found in various collections most notable to include former and current Prime Ministers and the Provincial Museum of New Brunswick , the Beaverbrook Art Gallery.

He has had many successful solo and group shows of his paintings in , Japan, Europe,  Canada  and most recently in the United States at the Armory Show in NYC and Art Chicago in Chicago. Viktor Mitic lives in Toronto.

Notable Collections & Collectors:

Beaverbrook Art Gallery, Fredericton, New Brunswick,

Canada National Gallery of Grenada, Georgetown , Grenada

Hon. Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada

Hon. Keith Mitchell, Prime Minister Of Grenada

Hon. Jean Chrétien, Former Prime Minister of Canada

Hon. Gary Filmon, Former Premier of Manitoba

Hon. Preston Manning, Former Leader of Opposition

Hon. Stockwell Day, Former Leader of Opposition

Hon. Bob Rae, Former Premier of Ontario

Hon. Jean Augustine, M.P. Etobicoke-Lakeshore

Hon. John Manley

Hon. Pierre Pettigrew

Hon. Ken Dryden

Odon Wagner, Odon Wagner Gallery

Phillip Gevik, Gallery Gevik

Walter Moos, Gallery Moos

Scarborough Arts Council

Recent Media & Critical Review:

Globe and Mail,David Balzer, 2011, Toronto,

Sleek Magazine, Berlin, Germany, 2011

Art Newspaper, NYC, USA 2011

M&C, NYC, USA 2011

ET Canada, 2010,

Canadian Press, 2010

MTV, 2010

Rogers Daytime TV, 2010

Newstalk 1010, Toronto, 2010

Daily Mail, London, UK, 2010

Global National, 2010

Torontoist, 2010

BlogTO, 2010

BBC Radio, London, UK, 2009

National Post, Mark Medley, 2009

Canadian Art, Minna Lee, 2009

Torontoist, Erin Balser, 2009

Globe and Mail, Jennifer Yang,

2009 Toronto Star, Peter Goddard, 2008

Toronto Sun, Mike Strobel,

2009 Telegraph-Journal, Fredericton, NB.

2009 Daily Gleaner, Fredericton, NB

2009 Press Enterprise, California, USA,

2008 ArtDaily.org, 2009

Biggs Museum of American Art, 2008

“ There was a number of occasions in history where places of worship and symbols of faith were attacked and destroyed. The recent destruction of the Buddhas of Bamiyan in Afghanistan and videos on Youtube of soldiers and villagers shooting at the twelfth- century Christian frescoes in Kosovo was shocking to the world.

The uneasiness with which people perceive weapons, since they were made for one purpose only (to destroy something living) puts me in an unique position—I use weapons to re-create iconic images. I carefully shoot the outline of the subject painted to generate the feeling of tranquility.