Tristesse Seeliger is a Vancouver-based artist and educator whose practice explores mapping, geometry, and the poetics of place through weaving, collage, painting, and public art. A graduate of Emily Carr University of Art + Design (BFA) and Simon Fraser University (PDP in Education), her work brings together research, material experimentation, and an interest in how we locate ourselves within shifting urban and natural landscapes.
Tristesse’s work has been featured in exhibitions across Canada, with recent solo and feature presentations at Vancouver Art Gallery’s Art Rental & Sales, Propellor Gallery, and an upcoming show at Gallery Jones. Her practice has also been included in invitational projects curated by Douglas Coupland, Westbank Corp, Vancouver Mural Festival, and Burrard Arts Foundation, with group exhibitions spanning galleries and cultural institutions throughout Vancouver, Whistler, and Oakland, California.
Her artwork has appeared in publications such as Wired UK, Geist, SAD Mag, and Duct Tape Magazine. She has participated in residencies at AZ West in Joshua Tree and MakerLabs in Vancouver, and regularly contributes to panels, talks, and cross-disciplinary conversations about art, collaboration, and creative process. Tristesse also produced Talking Art, an ongoing interview series exploring contemporary creative practices.
She is represented by the Vancouver Art Gallery Art Rental & Sales program, and her clients include Emily Carr University of Art + Design, Lululemon, Westbank Corp, Aritzia, the City of Richmond, the City Of Vancouver amounts others.
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EDUCATION
1998 – Professional Development Program, Faculty of Education, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, BC
1996 – Bachelor of Fine Arts, Emily Carr University of Art + Design, Vancouver, BC
SELECTED SOLO & FEATURE EXHIBITIONS
2026 — Small Works, Gallery Jones, Vancouver, BC (Upcoming)
2025 — A Soft Geometry, Solo Exhibition, Propellor Gallery, Vancouver, BC
2023 — Artist Feature, Vancouver Art Rental & Sales at the Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, BC
2016 — Solo Exhibition, Kafka’s, Vancouver, BC
2015 — The Map is Not the Territory, The Gam Gallery, Vancouver, BC
SELECTED GROUP & INVITATIONAL EXHIBITIONS
2025 — Eastside Culture Crawl Preview: Passion, Reason, Idiocy, Pendulum Gallery, Vancouver, BC
2025 — 100 Amigos, Astro Studios, Vancouver, BC
2024 — Eastside Culture Crawl: Green, Pendulum Gallery, Vancouver, BC
2023 — 100 Amigos, Vancouver, BC (Douglas Coupland, Drew Young, Pablo Zamudio, curators)
2021 — Authentic Self: A New Equilibrium, Headline Gallery, Vancouver, BC
2019 — 100 Amigos, El Kartel, Vancouver, BC
2019 — Expeditions, Kafka’s; Emily Carr Alumni & VAG Rental & Sales, Vancouver, BC
2018 — Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, South Main Gallery, Vancouver, BC
2018 — Bombay Sapphire Artisan Series, Gallery Jones, Vancouver, BC
2018 — INSITU, South Main Gallery, Vancouver, BC
2018 — Urban Landscapes, South Main Gallery, Vancouver, BC
2017 — Group Show, The Gallery at The Arts Centre, Whistler, BC
2017 — Fight For Beauty, Westbank Corp, Vancouver, BC
2017 — Burrard Arts Foundation, Vancouver Mural Festival, Vancouver, BC
2017 — Two-Person Exhibition with David Crompton, South Main Gallery, Vancouver, BC
2017 — Inspired by the Masters, Chali-Rosso Gallery, Vancouver, BC
2017 — Art Salon, The Arts Factory, Vancouver, BC
2016 — Kabuni Artist Spotlight, Vancouver, BC
2016 — Art Rental Show, CityScape Community Art Space, North Vancouver, BC
2015 — Anonymous Show, CityScape Community Art Space, North Vancouver, BC
2015 — YVR Airport Exhibition, Vancouver, BC
2015 — Marianne Amodio Architecture Studio, Vancouver, BC
2014 — The Gam Gallery, Vancouver, BC
2014 — Science Fair, Museum of Vancouver, , Vancouver, BC
PUBLICATIONS
Wired UK Magazine — Featured Artist, January 2018
Duct Tape Magazine — Featured Artist, 2025 Issue 3
Geist Magazine — Cover Artist, Issue 120
SAD Mag — Featured Artist, Issue 22
ARTIST TALKS, PANELS & PROJECTS
2024 — Artist-in-Residence, AZ West, Joshua Tree, California
2023 — Artist Talk, Vancouver Art Rental & Sales at Vancouver Art Gallery
2018 — Artist-in-Residence, MakerLabs: Tools for Women, Vancouver, BC
2018 — Creative Theory Podcast (with Aimée Henny Brown & Ilya Vriyachev)
2017 — Panelist, Fight For Beauty, Westbank, Vancouver, BC
2016 — Artist Presentation, Hot Art Wet City Gallery, Vancouver, BC
2016 — Artist Spotlight Talk, Kabuni, Vancouver, BC
Ongoing — Talking Art – Artist interview & cross-disciplinary collaboration series (YouTube)
REPRESENTATION
Vancouver Art Gallery — Art Rental & Sales, Vancouver, BC
SELECTED CLIENTS
Emily Carr University of Art + Design
Vancouver Mural Festival
Wired UK
Westbank Corp
Lululemon (The Lab)
Aritzia
Alessandra Branca Inc., New York
City of Richmond
IFD Technologies
Kado Design
Object Space, Seattle
SSDG Interiors Inc.