Post by COOPER COLE on Mar 26, 2009 13:49:46 GMT -8
As a child of 80’s growing up in Yugoslavia, Vladimir Kato was entrenched in the urban environment. His
neighborhood consisted of punks and skins hanging out on basketball courts, political and vulgar graffiti
on walls, and anarchy symbols scrawled on every mailbox; a formidable playground to encourage artistic
production. His father was a wood carver and first encouraged Vladimir to begin drawing and sculpting at
the age of 5. His early influences were Italian comics like Alan Ford, Zagor and the horror comic Dylan
Dog. Mixed with a young Eastern European outlook on Western pop culture, movie posters by Drew
Struzan (Back to the Future, E.T., Indiana Jones), brands like Nike, Cross Colors, and album covers from
Michael Jackson, Black Sabbath, and Iron Maiden all stimulated his mind. Vladimir’s early drawings
depicting everything from skateboarding, gun toting, hip-hop punks, to flying, medieval beast men.
After moving to Canada in 1993, Vladimir had trouble adjusting socially. Continuously moving as a youth,
he found it difficult to plant roots and meet new friends. Drawing was always a constant. Living in
Canada allowed Vladimir to experience different cultures and take from different walks of life. Finding his
place in the art world with graffiti and street art, the urban environment from which Vladimir drew his
inspiration now also acted as his canvas. At the age of 20 Vladimir was offered entrance in to the
Interpretive Illustration and Classical Animation Programmes at the Sheridan College of Art and Design.
Formal training allowed him to hone his skills as he drew inspiration from contemporaries like Jeff Soto,
Mike Giant, and Erik Brunetti. Since graduating Vladimir has done illustrative design work for several
recognized clothing companies and magazines and is currently focusing his talents on animation, working
as a full time concept and background artist in Toronto.
So here we are some 15 years and 11 apartments since his arrival in Canada, Show & Tell Gallery is
proud to welcome Vladimir to his first solo exhibition. Don’t Fight The Feeling is an introduction and
retrospective of Vladimir’s past and present works. The aim of the show is to entertain you, plain and
simple. Whether you like his art, find it offensive, or straight up despise it, hopefully you will walk away
thinking about what you saw.
Vladimir on his work:
“It all starts with a rad idea, I love creative freedom, and I look at my art as a way to communicate my
thoughts with people. I love telling stories in my pieces and hopefully the viewer can take something from
it. I find that if people know me they get it, my work is very much a reflection of my personality. I love
getting a positive reaction from new viewers but sometimes my work is met with resistance and distain,
but as long as it gets a reaction I am satisfied. If you don’t like it then my art is not for you, there are plenty
of decorative paintings you can buy to match your couch.”
