Meet Tina Pitsiavas IAVA’s newest member. We asked Tina’s a few getting to know you questions.
What was your earliest memory of an interaction with Art?
My two earliest memories of interacting with art was firstly in 1st grade, when we were asked to draw ourselves to hang the drawings on the back wall of the classroom. I remember initially drawing the typical triangle for a body but then realised for the first time that there were these things called shoulders so I amended the triangle and drew shoulders with arms hanging from them.
My second interaction with Art that stands out was later in primary school. I was captivated by a picture that hung in our living room showing a silhouetted windmill at sunset. As this was a print, for some reason, one day, I decided that it needed to be a painting. Rummaging around in Dad's shed, I found a board and proceeded to copy the image using some basic paints. On presenting it to Mum, she immediately hung it in the living room, replacing the print. Nearly 50 years later, I found that same painting. Mum had diligently stored it for safe keeping.
How would you describe your art practice? (Media; influences, approach?)
My art practice swings between traditional subject matter and more contemporary text based work. I am drawn to colour and enjoy the process of exploring how colours interact with each other to engage the viewer. My main media of choice is gouache but I also enjoy acrylics.
As a trained Art Therapist, I believe art has healing qualities and gives voice and clarity to contemporary issues. In my patchwork series, the combination of bright colours with upper and lower case text, hopefully causes the viewer to pause and carefully de-code its meaning, both serious and tongue in cheek. My work is only a small drop in the ocean of political and social commentary in art.
Do you have a favourite artist and/or artwork? What is it that makes them your favourite?
Whilst I predominately work using bold colours, I am drawn to the work of Käthe Kollwitz, a German painting and printmaking artist . What draws me to her work is how she portrays her subjects with amazing clarity of emotion, particularly during the world wars. Her social commentary speaks to m
