Mountain Life
  • Daily Content
    • Trips & Expeditions
    • Climbing
    • Mountain Biking
    • Mountain Lifer
    • Multiplicity
    • On The Trail
    • Paddling
    • Photography
    • Skiing
    • Snowboarding
    • Stay & Play
    • Surfing
    • The Great Outdoors
    • The ML Interview
    • Travel
  • GEAR
  • VIDEOS
  • STORE
  • Magazines
    • ML Coast Mountains
    • ML Rocky Mountains
    • Vie En Montagne
    • ML Blue Mountains
    • ML Annual
    • ML Subscriptions
  • ABOUT
    • What is ML?
    • Our Team
    • Newsletter
    • Adventure Grant
    • Distribution
  • Podcast
  • Contests
  • CONTACT
    • ML Agency
    • Advertising
    • Contribute
Subscription Form

Get notified of the best News

Social Links
Instagram 22K Followers
Facebook 25K Likes
Twitter 5K Followers
Pinterest 1K Followers
Vimeo 34 Followers
LinkedIn 0
22K Followers
25K Likes
5K Followers
1K Followers
Mountain Life
Mountain Life
  • Daily Content
    • Trips & Expeditions
    • Climbing
    • Mountain Biking
    • Mountain Lifer
    • Multiplicity
    • On The Trail
    • Paddling
    • Photography
    • Skiing
    • Snowboarding
    • Stay & Play
    • Surfing
    • The Great Outdoors
    • The ML Interview
    • Travel
  • GEAR
  • VIDEOS
  • STORE
  • Magazines
    • ML Coast Mountains
    • ML Rocky Mountains
    • Vie En Montagne
    • ML Blue Mountains
    • ML Annual
    • ML Subscriptions
  • ABOUT
    • What is ML?
    • Our Team
    • Newsletter
    • Adventure Grant
    • Distribution
  • Podcast
  • Contests
  • CONTACT
    • ML Agency
    • Advertising
    • Contribute
  • Mountain Lifer

Artist Profile: Levi Nelson

  • July 5, 2021
  • Mountain Life Media
Total
44
Shares
38
0
6
0
0
0
Total
44
Shares
Share 38
Tweet 0
Pin it 6
Share 0
Share 0
Share 0

words :: Feet Banks.

There’s an interesting photo on Levi Nelson’s Instagram feed, dated August 21, 2019. Sandwiched in amongst shots of his paintings or images of life in his hometown of Mount Currie, there’s a simple photo of a clear plastic cup with the words “urine only” scrawled on it in thick blue ink. 

Artist Profile Levi Nelson levi and the messengers
Nelson and The Messengers, 2021.

“One of these days I’ll be able to afford to install plumbing and a window in my modest studio,” Nelson writes in the caption. “Today I meet with the head curator of the Audain Art Museum in Whistler, and tomorrow a curation visit from the Maury Young Arts Centre. Ever grateful! My dreams are set to come true.”

It’s safe to say those dreams are working overtime, and so is Levi Nelson. Since that post, he has sold a painting to the Audain Art Museum (one of the world’s most celebrated collections of art from Coastal British Columbia), and had multiple pieces featured in the Bill Reid Gallery in Vancouver. His solo show at Maury Young Arts Centre was among the most celebrated they’ve ever had, and he just graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Emily Carr University of Art and Design in Vancouver (after winning the prestigious IDEA Art Award there in 2018). 

One of the most celebrated contemporary Indigenous artists in the country (Nelson is a member of the Lil’wat Nation) he’s recently been accepted to do his master’s degree at Columbia University in New York City. And perhaps best of all, his modest studio now has a beautiful window overlooking a grassy field and the eastern flank of Mount Currie… shit could be worse.

Artist Profile Levi Nelson Raven And the Last Meal
Raven and the Last Meal. Oil on canvas, 2019.

And it has been. The old saying is that the darkest hour is just before dawn, and Nelson says his path to painting full-time started during an alcohol-and-depression-fueled mental breakdown at work in the kitchen of a pizza parlour in Salmo, British Columbia.

“I’d let alcohol take control of my life,” he says. “And I hit a point where I felt, ‘I can’t be doing this with my life. I need to be doing more.’”

Thirty-two years old at the time, Nelson had already established and let go of careers as a fashion designer and actor, as well as worked a plethora of service industry jobs. Painting and visual arts had always been more of a hobby, but in that rock-bottom moment he wondered if art school might offer a way forward. A search for the best art schools in Canada led him to Emily Carr University; but they needed a portfolio submitted.

Artist Profile Levi Nelson Nations In Urban
Nations in an Urban Landscape. Oil on canvas, 2019.

“I didn’t have any art supplies, so I grabbed an old pizza box and a piece of charcoal and sketched out this Indian chief with a gas mask on. I dug up another small painting I’d done and filled out the application—drunk—and sent it off. I got accepted. I had to defer until the January intake [at the school] but that gave me a path, a goal to work on getting healthy. It was a battle. It was a battle the whole way, but art saved my life.”

Over the next half-decade, through the alchemy of hard work, raw talent, sobriety, and wild ambition, Nelson has catapulted himself into the upper echelon of contemporary Canadian artists. And while his works definitely speak to and incorporate traditional West Coast Indigenous form, style and subject matter, he is not afraid to stir things up by mixing pop culture icons, European influences, or biting social commentary into his work.

Artist Profile Levi Nelson Spirit Medicine Man Old Doctor
Two-Spirited Medicine Man Named Old Doctor. Acrylic, silkscreen, and collage on canvas, 2020.

“When I was in high school, my paintings were heavily influenced by surrealism and Salvador Dali, and of course cubism and Picasso, and even the ‘60s psychedelic type of artwork. I didn’t even really start exploring Indigenous art until eight years ago when I worked at the Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre in Whistler. But wow—that art influenced me and speaks to who I am as a person. I guess I relate to the world mostly through an Indigenous lens, so I create Indigenous art, but with a contemporary aesthetic. So, Sitting Bull could be on the same painting as Snow White, which is something I did in a piece called Hunter Gatherer. I guess that sort of thing is an attempt not to be pigeon-holed as simply Indigenous. Plus, I’m an oil painter, and that’s a European tradition so I think about that every time I do work.”

Nelson says a lot of his work is influenced by the writing and art of Marcia Crosby, who speaks a lot about the First Nations peoples living in urban landscapes outside of their traditional territories. The piece he sold to the Audain Art Museum is titled Nations in an Urban Landscape, and imagines an urban street scene of Indigenous people wearing traditional masks and using artifacts like bent-wood baskets. Trade Blankets features a person sleeping on the sidewalk beneath a classic Hudson’s Bay Company blanket. 

Artist Profile Levi Nelson Gender Performativity
Gender Performativity. Acrylic on canvas

While having his work in museums has always been a goal, Nelson says he’s grateful to have pieces hanging in his hometown as well, and that connecting to regular people—selling canvasses for people’s homes, or even seeing his work on a newspaper cover sitting on the back of a public toilet—is still something he values incredibly.

“Absolutely. It’s an honour to have somebody want to live with your art on their wall. Like a piece I did called Gender Performativity for a group show at the Bill Reid Gallery called ‘Resurgence: Indigiqueer Identities’—the show was about two-spiritedness and a lady who has a transgender daughter saw my piece and we’ve been emailing back and forth because they want to commission something similar that speaks to what it’s like for their child’s experience going through life. It is incredibly touching that people want to have a relationship with something that, I’d like to think, comes from my soul. I open myself up when I do work. Otherwise, it’s not worth it.” 

Check out Levi’s work on his Instagram and listen for an hour-long conversation on the new “Live it up with Mountain Life” podcast. Watch for it in July.

Article excerpted from ML Coast Mountains, summer ’21.


Total
44
Shares
Share 38
Tweet 0
Pin it 6
Share 0
Share 0
Share 0
Related Topics
  • artist
  • Indigenous
  • Lil'wat
  • Whistler
Mountain Life Media

Previous Article
735990496 1280x720
  • The Great Outdoors
  • Videos

Friday Flick: Island of Plenty

  • July 2, 2021
  • Sarah Bulford
View Post
Next Article
Grizzly-G40-Cooler-mountains-field-red
  • CAMPING GEAR
  • SUMMER GEAR
  • THE GEAR SHED

Rollin’ with the Griz

  • July 7, 2021
  • Mountain Life Media
View Post
You May Also Like
knorthphotography.Beverly-Glenn Copeland-crop
View Post
  • Mountain Lifer

Beverly Glenn-Copeland: Finding the Universal Broadcast

  • Mountain Life Media
  • January 17, 2023
Talon-Pascal-lilWat-feature-crop
View Post
  • Mountain Lifer

Talon Pascal, Culture Keeper

  • Mountain Life Media
  • January 9, 2023
M-Fredriksson-Christina-Lusti-2
View Post
  • Mountain Lifer
  • Skiing
  • Women

Christina “Lusti” Lustenberger: Killing It Softly

  • Mountain Life Media
  • January 3, 2023
View Post
  • Mountain Lifer
  • Skiing
  • Videos

Friday Flick: Santa Rips

  • Sarah Bulford
  • December 23, 2022
View Post
  • Mountain Lifer
  • Skiing
  • Snowboarding

Arc’teryx Backcountry Academy is coming to Whistler B.C.

  • Sarah Bulford
  • December 20, 2022
Ricky-Lewon-ski-racer
View Post
  • Mountain Lifer
  • Skiing

Ricky Lewon and the Need for Speed

  • Mountain Life Media
  • December 9, 2022
Raphael-Zarka
View Post
  • Mountain Lifer

Art vs. Skate

  • Mountain Life Media
  • December 5, 2022
TylerRavelle_R_Kimura-1410
View Post
  • Mountain Lifer
  • Snowboarding
  • Surfing
  • Women

The Jess Kimura Interview

  • Mountain Life Media
  • November 24, 2022
Featured Posts
  • Norco-Bigfoot2-fat-bike-winter-ride-MTB 1
    Gear Shed: Midwinter Picks
    • February 7, 2023
  • Skeena-Cat-Skiing-Northern-BC 2
    We Were Here
    • February 6, 2023
  • Mountain-Life-Coast-Mountains-Winter-2023 3
    ML Coast Mountains Winter-Spring ’23 Issue Out Now
    • February 3, 2023
  • Saint-Lawrence-ice-canoe-Jean-Anderson 4
    Jean Anderson: 40 Years of Ice Canoeing
    • January 31, 2023
  • CHOK-Images-RAB-Avril-2022 5
    Chic-Chocs: True Eastern Alpine
    • February 2, 2023
RECENT POSTS
  • Life-Time-Grand-Prix-gravel-bike
    New Docuseries Profiles the World’s Elite Off-Road Cyclists
    • January 30, 2023
  • L'Hymne-des-Trembles-Laurentians-Quebec
    L’Hymne des Trembles: Uncompromising Laurentian Skiing
    • January 27, 2023
  • Fjallraven-Nuuk-Parka-daniel-blom-photo_jacket
    Gear Shed: Multisport Winter Roundup
    • January 26, 2023
Social Links
Instagram 22K Followers
Facebook 25K Likes
Twitter 5K Followers
Pinterest 1K Followers
Vimeo 34 Followers
LinkedIn 0
INSTAGRAM
mountainlifemedia
22K Followers
There is a trend—mostly with tourism organizations and marketing departments, but travel journalists have been on board for a while now too… and the trend is to use the phrase “untouched wilderness” when writing about remote areas like the Skeena Mountains of northern B.C.
Help us wish ML Publisher @glenedwardharris a very happy, pow filled birthday! #mountainlifer
Live It Up EP 22 is OUT NOW!
NEW ML Coast Mountains Winter-Spring ’23 Issue is OUT NOW! 🙌
There are some first times that we will always remember. Like the time I skied off-piste through the alpine highlands of le parc national de la Gaspésie.
@shimizuimg getting those January goods ❄️ #mountainlifer
With four decades of ice canoeing under his belt, Jean Anderson has dominated a sport that's unique to Quebec and that he helped shape.
Featuring three gravel and three MTB events, the series explores the intense competition and love of the sport among 60 of the world’s premier cyclists.
Winter commute with #mountainlifer @michelle_pittam ❄️🚵‍♀️🌲
@lhymnedestrembles.ca is no mirage. Set in the lush Laurentian forest, yet easily accessible (less than an hour and a half from Montreal), this luxurious ski-in ski-out residential resort by @groupebrivia is nestled at the foot of the Versant Soleil side of Mont Tremblant. The Tremblant region is a perennial destination for outdoor enthusiasts from around the world, and within the province, attracting 3.5 million visitors annually.
Follow

Subscribe

Subscribe now to our newsletter

There is a trend—mostly with tourism organizations and marketing departments, but travel journalists have been on board for a while now too… and the trend is to use the phrase “untouched wilderness” when writing about remote areas like the Skeena Mountains of northern B.C.
Help us wish ML Publisher @glenedwardharris a very happy, pow filled birthday! #mountainlifer
Live It Up EP 22 is OUT NOW!
NEW ML Coast Mountains Winter-Spring ’23 Issue is OUT NOW! 🙌
There are some first times that we will always remember. Like the time I skied off-piste through the alpine highlands of le parc national de la Gaspésie.
@shimizuimg getting those January goods ❄️ #mountainlifer
Mountain Life
  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Subscribe
  • Advertising

Input your search keywords and press Enter.