Deana Nastic

Dancer I

2019

​Born in 1964 in Belgrade, Serbia, Deana Nastic studied art at the University of Belgrade, where she was first introduced to German expressionism — a look and tone which has greatly informed her work to this day. After pursuing a Master’s Degree in Fine Arts, and showing her work at Belgrade’s Cvieta Zazoric Museum, Nastic, a passionate painter, moved to Athens, Greece in 1991, where she presented her first solo exhibition at the Iris Gallery and lectured at South Eastern College. The following year, she moved to Toronto, Canada, where she taught art at the Art Gallery of Ontario and continued her painting in oils and watercolours for the next two decades. During that period, she presented a solo exhibition of her work at Toronto’s Lonsdale Gallery. In 2012, Nastic became fascinated with the art of photography and began experimenting. She saw this as an extension of her work in watercolours, enraptured by the fluidity she was able to express in this new medium. After working diligently for 4 years, studying various photographic techniques and developing her own signature approach and style, Nastic presented a solo exhibition of her work, entitled “Invisible Brush” in 2016 at the Izzy Gallery in Toronto. The following year, she participated in Project X-Posed, a collaborative effort dubbed The Disruptor Series, which was presented to commemorate the Canadian Arts and Fashion Awards (CAFA’s) fifth anniversary. The Zacharias G. Portolakis Foundation, actor William Hurt and film director Lawrence Schiller figure amongst the many international collectors who prize Deana’s art work. Her work hang in the Old City of Belgrade Museum and they have also been featured in television and in 2006 American film "The Holiday" as well as in major campaigns for Macy’s Department Store in New York, USA. Deanas work is also in collection of NCE Financial Ltd, Toronto, Canada as well as Renaissance Leisure Group and Wilson Christen Barrister Toronto Canada and other private collections world wide. Deana Nastic’s work has been published in “Ta Nea Magazine,” Athens, Greece, “Dolce Magazine”, Toronto, Canada “Panorama Magazine,” Milan, Italy “Bazar”, Belgrade Serbia “Novella Magazine”, Toronto, Canada.