Tetyana Khytko

I express my thoughts and feelings through allegories. Roads, bikes, sails, birds and other objects in my paintings have symbolic meaning. Road can represent life journey. Wind associated with anxiety and awaiting changes ("Gone with the wind"). Broken umbrella is telling a story of broken heart (“Broken umbrella“). “Setting sails” is about following or fighting for your dream. I like discovering new objects with “meaning” to use in my works, like a poet uses allegories.

Born in Kiev, Ukraine, I became infected with the drawing virus at a very early age when I discovered on my parents' bookshelf a book of caricatures by Herluf Bidstrup, famous Danish artist/caricaturist. So my early experimentation with art was in drawing caricatures of my classmates, teachers and other locals. I studied painting at the Kiev Art School and in 1987 graduated from the Kiev State Institute of Arts with a degree in architecture. After graduation I worked as an architect and later changed my career into graphic design.

I return to my passion, painting, many years later, when in 2000 I immigrated with my family to New Zealand. I began experimenting with different mediums and techniques to move away from the representational approach. I have participated in numerous group and solo exhibitions run in Wellington - WAG (Wellington Artist Group), Watercolour NZ, Academy of Fine Arts, South Coast Gallery and Portraiture Award exhibitions. The NZ Art Show (Wellington) is my favorite event. I have participated in the show as a Single Artist Wall exhibitor every year since it started in 2004.

Most of my works are based on first impression sketches and caricatures. I let them travel straight from my sketchbook onto a canvas with very little changes and corrections. In regards to colour - I should confess to a great love of green in all its shades. However there was a certain shift in my colour palette after moving to Australia in 2010.

Kiev State Art School (Kiev, Ukraine) 1976-1981

Kiev State Institute of Arts (Kiev, Ukraine) 1981-1987
Degree in Architecture

The NZ Art Show (Wellington) Single Artist Wall exhibitor 2004 – 2016
Camberwell Art Show (Melbourne, Australia) 2011 – 2016
Sydney Art Expo 2010 – 2013
Art Melbourne Show 2011
Numerous solo and group exhibitions at the NZ Academy of Fine Arts, Watercolour NZ, WAG (Wellington Artist Group) 2001 - 2010
Given a status of Elected Artist Member of the NZ Academy of Fine Arts 2008
Invited artist for the Art in Action show at the School of Philosophy, Wellington 2008
Art Encompassing at the Wellington Cathedral of St Paul 2006, 2008
“Visually tactile” exhibition at South Coast Gallery 2008
Guest artist at the Pinehaven Art and Craft exhibition 2007
Parklane Art Award Exhibition (Auckland) 2007
The Adam Portraiture Awards (Wellington) 2004, 2006

Cezanne, Van Gogh, Modigliani, Klimt, Andrei Rublev. Also contemporary artists Mike Bernard and Shirley Trevena.

contemporary, abstract, impressionist, people, landscape, still life