Viktor Mitic to Make U.S. Debut with Latest Installation INCIDENT in D.C.

Canadian visual artist Viktor Mitic has been invited to Washington, DC for a showing of his recent work of art titled "Incident". This timely and important art installation for "The Newtown Project: Art Targets Guns" at the First Congregational United Church of Christ, will be a highlight at the Exhibit's opening weekend, April 5^th and 6^th. The installation will then move to George Mason University's main campus outside of Washington in Fairfax County, Virginia, where it will be displayed near the George Mason School of Art Building, April 8^th through the10^th. Mr. Mitic's latest large scale installation piece is a bullet-riddled yellow school bus, which he turned into a work of aesthetic and thought-provoking art by using over 6,000 bullets fired from various assault rifles, shot-guns and semi-automatic weapons. "Incident" was previously displayed in Toronto, Canada in 2012 and was dedicated to victims of gun violence.

"The Newtown Project: Art Targets Guns", curated and organized by Washington's Charles Krause/Reporting Fine Art Gallery (www.charleskrausereporting.com), is a group show of work by more than 30 artists from the United States and Europe who responded to the gallery's "open call," issued last December, for art illustrating the need for more restrictive gun control laws in the wake of the Newtown massacre. The exhibition opens with a Press Conference on April 5^th at 11:30 AM, where Mitic's installation will be shown.

Mr. Mitic is showing gun related art this April to give greater thought to 'gun culture.' He provokes many complex questions with his latest installation of "Incident". From the Newtown tragedy to the ongoing 'Wild West' mentality currently plaguing North America, society is faced with a constant barrage of gun-related violence. Are we fostering a culture that immortalizes the 9mm in music and film, or are guns actually the source of much evil, as many would have us believe? Mitic has been very active and outspoken through his art which comments on aspects of our obsession with guns and celebrity. He sends a vivid message to some of the issues that plague society today surrounding the use and existence of guns in civilian life.

The installation event at George Mason is a 3-day art showing in conjunction with the University's International Festival, attended by George Mason art students and faculty. It will open with a discussion by Mr. Mitic on his recent work of art, and the creative process that led to its realization. The presentation will be outdoors at 12:00 noon on Monday, April 8^th and on April 9^th at 12:00 noon with a special presentation and screening of the 'making of the Incident'.

"THE NEWTOWN PROJECT: ART TARGETS GUNS"

George Mason University School of Art

Viktor Mitic is a graduate of the University of Toronto. He is well known for his 'bullet paintings' where he fires guns and other live ammunition into his painted canvases to complete them. Using celebrities, political and religious figures, such as Marilyn Monroe, John F. Kennedy and Jesus Christ, he painted portraits onto canvases and then used more than one million rounds of ammunition and various guns to highlight many of the lines in them. This ongoing project has culminated in several shows, a documentary film and a book titled 'Art or War'. Viktor has had numerous successful solo and group shows of his paintings in Japan, Europe, Canada and in the United States. His art was also shown at important art trade shows such as the Armory show in NYC, ART CHICAGO and the Toronto International Art Fair. Viktor Mitic lives in Toronto.