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Lez Niepo, local visual artist and musician, immigrated to Canada from Scandinavia in 1973, first settling in Toronto, then moving to the Sunshine Coast, where he established his studio, Allworks, in Halfmoon Bay. His paintings from that time were influenced by the European abstract movement.
In the eighties, Lez travelled to the Fiji Islands and beyond. Then in 1995, he undertook a one-man expedition to the South Pacific, where he explored the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, and Papua New Guinea. He encountered tribal images and the mystical language of signs, which appear as strong influences in his later work.
In addition to exhibits of Lez’s work appearing in Canada and the US, his paintings are held in private collections in Europe and North America. His images have also appeared in numerous publications.
In his 2008 solo exhibition at the Sunshine Coast Arts Centre, Lez’s large canvases indicated a departure from his earlier abstract form, possibly influenced by his travel in Southeast Asia. He is currently building a new gallery a short drive from the Saltery Bay ferry terminal south of Powell River.
Lez quotes, “As an artist, you have to fight and survive the wilderness to keep your creative freedom. Creativity is very fragile. It’s like a leaf in the fall; it hangs and when it drops, you don’t know where it’s drifting.”
Lez’s current work can be seen at Vortex Fashions, 5699 Cowrie Street, Sechelt.
