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. Broken umbrella is telling a story of broken heart. Sailing is 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 Kyiv, 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 Kyiv Art School and in 1987 graduated from the Kyiv 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, participated in numerous group and solo exhibitions run in Wellingt...

1976—1981 Kyiv State Art School (Kyiv, Ukraine)

1981—1987 Kyiv State Institute of Arts (Kyiv, Ukraine) Degree in Architecture

1997 Course of Decorative Painting (Kyiv, Ukraine)

1998 Kyiv College of Design (Kyiv, Ukraine)
Certificate in Desktop Publishing

2002—2003 National College of Design and Technology (Wellington, NZ)
Diploma of Computer Graphic Design

NEW ZEALAND

2001—2007 WAG, Watercolour NZ, the NZ Academy of Fine Arts, Art Encompassing at the Wellington Cathedral of St Paul (2006, 2008), the Adam Portraiture Awards (2004, 2006), Affordable Art Shows (2005—2007), Parklane Art Award Exhibition 2007 (Auckland)

Sept 2007 Guest artist at the Pinehaven Art and Craft exhibition, Wellington

Oct 2008 Invited for the Art in Action show at the School of Philosophy, Wellington

Oct 2008 Given a status of Elected Artist Member of the Academy of Fine Arts, Wellington

Dec 2008 Received Watercolour 2008 Art Award for my entry into the watercolour exhibition Splash 5 titled “Spring at Aro Valley”

Dec 2008 “Visually tactile” exhibition at South Coast Gallery, Wellington

Apr 07; May 09; Nov 12 SOLO at the Academy of Fine Arts, Wellington (solo24; solo28; solo34)

2008—2019 SAW (Single Artist Wall) at the NZ Art Shows, an annual 3 days art fair run in Wellington

AUSTRALIA

Nov 2010 stART (self-represented artists) at the Weekend Affordable Art Fair Sydney

May 2011 stART (self-represented artists) at the Affordable Art Fair Melbourne

Nov 2011; Sept 2012 Art Expo Sydney

2013—2022 The Camberwell Art Show

Oct 2019 & Dec 2021 The Other Art Fair Sydney

2017 &...