• born in 1960 in Zajecar, Serbia
• father from Montenegro; mother is Serbian
• immigrated to Toronto, Ontario in 1988
• B.F.A., Academy of Fine Arts, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Yugoslavia (1984); M.F.A., Academy of Fine Arts, Univeristy of Belgrade, Belgrade, Yugoslavia (1987)

click on thumbnails at left to view larger images

Producing sculptural works out of pantyhose, Vessna Perunovich extends and manipulates her material into imaginative evocations of the physical body, exploring the precarious and tenuous boundary between pleasure and pain. Filling pantyhose with everyday objects Perunovich stretches her material, in order to test its physical limits. Referring to her 1996 exhibition, Theatre of the Mind, Perunovitch writes: "as this other skin for the body can easily rip, so can the body they are put over. By assembling these fragile structures, I have attempted to express the tensions of everyday reality versus our romantic views of sensuality and love. Through the use of diverse materials and forms I intended to reveal anxieties and desires we feel in our intimate relationships" (1996). In Of Passions and Rage (1998) Perunovich has filled red pantyhose with sand, suspending it in cage-like constructions made of garden fencing. Signifying blood, these red sculptural formations demonstrate Perunovich’s investigations into violence and war. The theme of domestic violence is explored again in Silent Cries (1998) an installation comprised of trumpets appended onto a wooden door. A red biomorphic substance, suggestive of blood flows from the trumpets alluding to the unheard voices of victims of domestic abuse. In her series, Small Scenes of Intimacy (1998) Perunovich engages in a critique of the artificial divisions imposed by society in order to demarcate different sexual behaviours. For Perunovich contemporary society exaggerates the difference between sexual orientations and genders in order to uphold barriers between people. Pantyhose for Perunovich is emblematic of society's efforts to contain and restrict our freedom, symbolizing the behavioral codes imposed upon us which prevent us from realizing our dreams and aspirations. Gillian Mackay has written, though, "whether Perunovich is representing mermaids or missiles--and she does both--her work consistently reflects the dynamism and joy of making. Fragile yet tough, ephemeral yet enduring, it speaks eloquently of transformation and transcendence" (1997).

Of Passion and Rage
MEG Gallery, Toronto, Ontario

Small Scenes of Intimacy
Visual Arts Ontario, Toronto, Ontario

Nostalgia
Canadian Film Centre, Toronto, Ontario

Face Behind the Mask
Academy of Fine Arts Gallery, Belgrade, Yugoslavia

Collective Unconscious Project
Wagner Rosenbaum Gallery, Toronto, Ontario

Sacred Sex II
Harcourt House Gallery, Edmonton, Alberta

A Space, Toronto, Ontario

Art Salon '98
Canadian Opera House, Toronto, Ontario

Recent Drawings
Factorie Gallery, Toronto, Ontario

Image '97
Art Gallery of Mississauga, Mississauga, Ontario

Mighty Canadian Art
Red Head Gallery, Toronto, Ontario

OSA 125th Anniversary Travelling Exhibition
Tom Thomson Memorial Art Gallery, Owen Sound, Ontario; Gallery Stratford, Stratford, Ontario; Rodman Hall Art Gallery, St. Catharines, Ontario; McLaren Arts Centre, Barrie, Ontario

Out of the Blocks
Gallery 435, Hamilton, Ontario

Reinterpreting the Environment
Consilium Place, Scarborough, Ontario

Music in Your Eyes
Edward Day Gallery, Cambridge, Ontario

Image '95
John B. Aird Gallery, Toronto, Ontario

October Salon
Cvijeta Zuzoric, Belgrade, Yugoslavia

Ghaznavi, Corinna. Of Passion and Rage. Toronto, Ontario: MEG Gallery, 1998.

Hanna, Deidre. "Bawdy fetes carnival, In Lieu takes on loos." Now Magazine (2 July 1998): n.p.

Jankovic, Alexandra. Desire and Disillusion. Toronto, Ontario: Teodora Art Gallery, 1995.

MacKay, Gillian. "Skin tight." Canadian Art 14, no. 3 (Fall 1997): 92.

Mark, Lisa Gabrielle. "Letter from Toronto." C Magazine (September/November 1998): 37.

Perunovich, Vessna. Theatre of the Mind. Stratford, Ontario, Gallery 96, 1996.