about the artist

Anita UtasAnita Utas was born in London, Ontario, and now resides in Ottawa. She received her honours Bachelor of Arts degree in Art History from the University of Western Ontario, where she studied under Paterson Ewen and Duncan de Kergommeaux, and she completed coursework toward her MA in Art History at Queen’s University in Kingston. In 1993, she completed her Bachelor of Education at the University of Western Ontario.

After working as an art teacher in London, Ontario, Anita traveled overseas and spent seven years teaching in international schools in Japan, South Korea, Singapore, and Venezuela. She has traveled extensively and draws upon these experiences as inspiration for her landscapes.

Anita is represented by the Orange Gallery in Ottawa, and the Robert Macklin Gallery in Kingston. She is an active member of the Foyer Gallery, a juried artist run space in Ottawa. Her work has been shown in many venues in Ottawa and the surrounding area, and is part of private collections in Canada, the U.S.A., and Europe.

artist's statement

The role of the artist, I believe, is to express what has significant meaning in our lives, and in doing so, inspire viewers to contemplate these concepts on a deeper level. Through my work, I wish to offer a respite from our urban, tethered existence. We enter a work of art to divest ourselves of our physical limits; the closed spaces we have created in our lives and minds. A painting becomes a place where we can explore and experience what we are seeking, be it a communion with nature, or an inner dialogue that helps us come closer to an awareness of ourselves and our place in this world.

My landscapes often capture ephemeral moments as viewed in nature; the quiet magic when the day moves to dusk, the way the sun illuminates a mountain range, the lifting of a storm. I am drawn to the calming forces of far off vistas; landscapes that are beyond simple visual identification.

 

© Anita Utas 2008
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