LEE CLAREMONT

Painting

City: Okanagan Valley, British Columbia

Website: www.leeclaremont.com

Artist Statement: The themes I see running through all of my paintings is the use of colour, exploration, healing and visual storytelling. My paintings are a journey to formulate the existence of the contemporary world intermingled with the universality of traditional values, protocol and cultures of indigenous peoples. While I maintain my Mohawk roots and culture, the influence of Indigenous people, the land and it’s people are an influence in my work. My hope is that my images inspire us all to continue the healing in our communities today and for generations to come.

Biography: Lee Claremont is more than an Indigenous artist. She is a visual storyteller who has an intimate understanding of the language that colour speaks. Her explosions of colour burst into the world of painting, intertwining texture, pattern and life through a uniquely Indigenous worldview. She creates for us a world on canvas that bridges the past with the contemporary, bringing healing through the beautiful balance of playfulness, truth-telling and courage.

Lee’s artwork can be found across Canada and worldwide including a traveling exhibition of female artists globally that started in China at the 5th United Nations Conference on Women and Children. Lee’s images can also be found on book covers, art cards, event posters, CD covers, and in a line of fabric.

Lee is Mohawk and Irish and was born in Woodstock, Ontario  and is a member of the Grand River Six Nations Ontario. She has a BFA (Honors) from the University of British Columbia and now resides in the beautiful Okanagan Valley in BC.