BIO
Yezica Tutic – Artist & Creative Professional
Yezica Tutic (b. 1987, Buenos Aires, Argentina) is an artist, creative professional, and art handler based in Brooklyn, New York. As the first generation born in Argentina from a Yugoslavian immigrant family, her multicultural background has deeply influenced her artistic journey.
Tutic’s passion for art began at the young age of four, and by six, she had already started formal training under Maria Ignacia Wügner. She later studied with Marcela Burgos and Jorge Gianco, becoming Gianco’s assistant at 18. In 2007, she enrolled at the Argentinian National University of Art (UNA) in Buenos Aires, double majoring in Painting and Scenery & Costume Design. During her final year at UNA, she undertook an intensive two-year clinic with renowned abstract painter Tulio De Sagastizabal. Throughout her studies, she also worked closely with contemporary Argentine artists, including Mariano Ferrante, Ines Raitieri, and Sylvia Rivas.
A short trip to New York City in 2013 proved life-changing, inspiring her to pause her graduate studies and move to the U.S. to further her artistic exploration. In New York, she worked as an assistant to Canadian artist Bradley Hart and continued her artistic education through ceramic and screen-printing courses in Brooklyn. Her work has since been exhibited in solo and group shows in various galleries, artistic institutions, and alternative spaces. In 2019, she was selected for the Can Serrat Art Residency in Barcelona, where she developed a significant series of paintings that deepened her artistic investigation.
Beyond her personal practice, Tutic has built a career in art handling and scenic art. She is currently a head art handler at the Queens Museum, specializing in exhibition preparation, large-scale canvas stretching (up to 3m x 3m), and working closely with artists to properly display and ship their works. She has collaborated on large-scale murals for Christine Sun Kim, executing her designs in major institutions such as the Queens Museum, Parrish Museum, and Tang Museum—one of which spanned an impressive 126 feet by 36 feet. This project was featured in an episode of Art in the Twenty-First Century, where the Queens Museum and Christine Sun Kim’s work were highlighted.
Additionally, Tutic has worked in the film and television industry as a scenic artist for the past four years, expanding her technical skills in set design, materials, and painting techniques. In 2023, she designed, built, and painted a set for Nestlé USA, marking her first major set design project.
During the pandemic, she discovered a new creative passion—tattooing. Specializing in fine-line illustration, she trained under Janice Danger, a well-known NYC tattoo artist from Grits and Glory. Though still honing her craft, she has already developed a unique style that reflects her meticulous and detail-oriented approach to art.
With a deep love for problem-solving, helping others, and continuous learning, Tutic’s work spans multiple disciplines while remaining rooted in her passion for artistic expression. Whether through painting, scenic design, murals, or tattoos, she constantly pushes herself to explore new ways of storytelling and connection.
She continues to live and work in Brooklyn, spending countless hours in her studio, refining her craft, and contributing to the NYC art scene.
ARTIST STATEMENT
I remember seeing a fascinated, curious, and a slightly afraid face. I had the best welcome to this world.
I was raised with my mother, grandmother, and aunts. I learned the fearless, strong, and hard working way of living and being present as a woman, surrounded by women.
My work reflects that life, my experiences, what I saw, and mainly the answers to all my questions. It expresses who I am.
In my video performances, I use my body and repeated movements to deliver a specific concept. It always involves my body and certain actions I do in front of the camera, while I record myself. By exposing the audience to the same motion over and over again, I help them not only to see, but to truly start observing the idea. Repetition is one of tools I have found to communicate the way I see this world. I let image repeat and repeat and my body act, hoping to bring the observer closer to my mindset.
My most recent series of paintings is an investigation dealing with female empowerment. I explore behavior between colors to express the way I feel about it. I travel through my own color theory, discovering how different colors react when put together.
By working with a color theory I create different sensations, movements, and vibrations that each individual will feel in their own way. It becomes an optical game where the eye travels through colors, light, and darkness creating their own physical sensation.
Color is perception. The combination of colors affects the way we see those colors. Some colors can appear lighter or darker than they would by themselves, because of the other colors they are surrounded by. A sharp contrast between two colors can make imagery stand out, but overuse of this can be tiresome to the eye.
This color concept, juxtaposed with forms of the female anatomy, represents the dynamic nature of femininity that I believe in.
Finally having the time to fully commit to my practice gave me the opportunity to create my 12 painting series, Diario. Not only is each painting an investigation towards mastery of shape and color, attempting to highlight, push, challenge and rediscover their relationships, but each tells a very personal story. They reflect me in the moment and represent growth, both in my art and my life.