lessLIE
(B. 1973, Duncan, BC; Coast Salish)
lessLIE is a contemporary Coast Salish artist born in Duncan, BC. lessLIE grew up in Seattle, and his work often articulates his experience as an urban dweller. He frequently uses word play in his titles to reveal hidden meanings, or blends imagery and text through the use of punctuation. For example, his monumental spindle whorl painting titled, wHOLE w(((horld))).
lessLIE has been studying Coast Salish art since 1995, and received his Bachelor of Arts in First Nations Studies from Malaspina University-College. He is currently working on a Master of Arts degree in Interdisciplinary Studies with a focus on Coast Salish art at the University of Victoria.
His work is held in the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, as well as the Westfalisches Museum fur Naturkunde in Munster, Germany. He has had solo exhibitions at Two Rivers Gallery, Prince George, and Alcheringa Gallery. In late 2009, lessLIE participated in the cross-cultural exhibition at Alcheringa, Hailans to Ailans. In 2013, he co-curated the exhibition Urban Thunderbirds/Ravens in a Material World at the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria.
