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. Her work uses material process as a way of thinking—drawing attention to how landscapes, architectures, and systems are measured, navigated, and felt over time.
She holds a BFA from Emily Carr University of Art + Design and a Professional Development Program in Education from Simon Fraser University. Grounded in research and sustained material inquiry, her current work focuses on weaving as both artwork and architectural form, emphasizing slow, tactile processes that invite extended, sensory engagement.
Seeliger has exhibited widely across Canada, with recent solo and featured presentations at the Vancouver Art Gallery’s Art Rental & Sales and Propeller Gallery, and an upcoming exhibition at Gallery Jones. Her work has also been included in invitational and public projects curated by Douglas Coupland, Westbank Corp, the Vancouver Mural Festival, and the Burrard Arts Foundation, with group exhibitions in Vancouver, Whistler, and Oakland, California.
Her work has been featured in Wired UK, Geist, SAD Mag, and Duct Tape Magazine. She has participated in residencies at A/Z West (Joshua Tree) and MakerLabs (Vancouver), and regularly contributes to panels and public conversations on contemporary art and creative process. The Vancouver Art Gallery Art Rental & Sales program represents Seeliger.
Visual Artist & Educator
Studio: 778-321-9225
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
Solo Exhibitions & Features
2026
— Soft Systems: Radical Matters, Deluge Contemporary, Victoria, BC
— SMALL SCALE UP CLOSE, Gallery Jones, Vancouver, BC (upcoming)
2025
— A Soft Geometry, Solo Exhibition, Propellor Gallery, Vancouver, BC
2023
— Artist Feature, Vancouver Art Rental & Sales, 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
Selected Group Exhibitions
2026
— Blue, J-Project Gallery, Vancouver, BC
2025
— Eastside Culture Crawl Preview: Passion, Reason, Idiocy, Pendulum Gallery, Vancouver, BC (CARFAC fees)
— 100 Amigos, Astro Studios, Vancouver, BC
2024
— Eastside Culture Crawl: Green, Pendulum Gallery, Vancouver, BC
2023
— 100 Amigos, Vancouver, BC (curated by Douglas Coupland, Drew Young, and Pablo Zamudio)
2021
— Authentic Self: A New Equilibrium, Headline Gallery, Vancouver, BC
2019
— 100 Amigos, El Kartel, Vancouver, BC
— Expeditions, Kafka’s; Emily Carr Alumni & VAG Rental & Sales, Vancouver, BC
2018
— Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, South Main Gallery, Vancouver, BC
— Bombay Sapphire Artisan Series, Gallery Jones, Vancouver, BC
— INSITU, South Main Gallery, Vancouver, BC
— Urban Landscapes, South Main Gallery, Vancouver, BC
2017
— Group Exhibition, The Gallery at The Arts Centre, Whistler, BC
— Fight for Beauty, Westbank Corp, Vancouver, BC
— Burrard Arts Foundation, Vancouver Mural Festival, Vancouver, BC
— Two-Person Exhibition with David Crompton, South Main Gallery, Vancouver, BC
— Inspired by the Masters, Chali-Rosso Gallery, Vancouver, BC
— Art Salon, The Arts Factory, Vancouver, BC
2016
— Kabuni Artist Spotlight, Vancouver, BC
— Art Rental Show, CityScape Community Art Space, North Vancouver, BC
2015
— Anonymous Exhibition, CityScape Community Art Space, North Vancouver, BC
— YVR Airport Exhibition, Vancouver, BC
— Marianne Amodio Architecture Studio, Vancouver, BC
2014
— The Gam Gallery, Vancouver, BC
— Science Fair, Museum of Vancouver, Vancouver, BC
PUBLICATIONS
Wired UK Magazine — Featured Artist, January 2018
Duct Tape Magazine — Featured Artist, Issue 3, 2025
Geist Magazine — Cover Artist, Issue 120
SAD Mag — Featured Artist, Issue 22
ARTIST TALKS, PANELS & PROJECTS
2026 — Artist Talk, Deluge Contemporary, Soft Systems Radical Matters, Victoria, BC, Canada
2024 — Artist-in-Residence, A/Z West, Joshua Tree, California
2024 — Talking Art: Collaboration, Craft, and the Art of Cross-Disciplinary Creation
2023 — Artist Talk, Vancouver Art Rental & Sales, 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