Sacha Lees

Sacha Lees(born 1977) is a New Zealand contemporary artist whose materially engaged oil painting practice explores the entanglements of identity, power, and body anxiety within womanhood. Informed by feminist theory, her work uses her own body as both a site of resistance and a symbol of societal control. Her practice combines classical painting techniques with processes of material transformation, including bodily imprinting onto reclaimed copper and the manipulation of painted measuring tapes. Drawing on Baroque art and visual traditions, Lees reworks historical representations of the feminine body to examine contemporary structures of gender, value, and power. Art historian, curator and writer Dr Kirsty Baker has described Lees' practice as distorting "the representative frame that has long sought to contain and constrain women."

Training and career alt=A black-and-white photograph of artist Sacha Lees posing before one of her Baroque-inspired works—a dynamic composition where liberated fabric and entangled limbs collide in chaos. Contemporary Artist, Sacha Lees in front of her painting 'Cassandra'. Photography credit: Amber-Jayne Bain. Lees was born in Greymouth and grew up in Kumara, on the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island. Her early training in art, figure drawing and visual communication took place in Christchurch at Hagley Community College and Christchurch Polytechnic. Between 1997 and 2004 she worked at Weta Workshop in Wellington as a creature designer and illustrator, model maker, sculptor and airbrush artist on Sir Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings film trilogy and designed some of the commercial merchandise for the productions. Her hands (in make-up) also 'acted' the part of Gollum's hands in a scene in The Fellowship of the Ring where Gollum is tortured.

Lees spent a year studying old master art techniques in Florence, Italy. On her return to New Zealand, Lees applied the skills acquired in Italy to the development of her art through a series of mainly private portraiture and fantastic art commissions.

In December 2010 Lees was included in the exhibition White Cloud Worlds at the Dowse Art Museum, and the book of the same title published in 2011. The exhibition and book were a showcase of fantasy and science-fiction art by New Zealand artists, curated by Paul Tobin and Kate Jorgensen. Lees subsequently featured in the two follow-up volumes of White Cloud Worlds and associated exhibitions in Wellington and Upper Hutt between 2012 and 2017.

In 2024, Lees completed her Master of Fine Arts studies at Massey University in Wellington, and in 2025 was awarded the degree with First Class Honours. Her thesis, titled Profane Baroque and a Woman’s Experience, examines enduring gender inequities and the role of women in art, drawing from feminist theory and the works of artists such as Jenny Saville and Jacqueline Fahey.

Exhibitions [Un]becoming

In 2026, Lees presented [Un]becoming at Page Galleries in Wellington. The exhibition explored the historical representation of the feminine body through fragmented forms, Baroque-inspired imagery and materially experimental painting. Lees worked on reclaimed copper and painted measuring tapes, using their physical properties to disrupt and fragment the painted image. Art historian and curator Dr Kirsty Baker wrote that the works "refuse to yield to legibility" and described the body in the exhibition as "coming undone."

Portrait of King Charles III In 2025, Lees was commissioned by The Northern Club in Auckland to create a portrait of King Charles III. The painting presents a modern and relatable depiction of the monarch, focusing on his character rather than traditional regalia. This commission reflects Lees' evolving practice and her engagement with contemporary portraiture.

Adam Portraiture Award Lees has been a finalist in the Adam Portraiture Award three times. In 2012 she entered with a portrait of New Zealand celebrity chef Peter Gordon. In 2020, she won the Adam Portraiture Award with her self-portrait entitled Sometimes an Outline Coloured In. The judges described Lees as “ruthless in her self-scrutiny”. The work was noted for its psychological intensity and formal innovation; one curator observed that Lees “expands on the depiction of the artist at work as she seemingly fills in her own image before our eyes,” highlighting her exploration of the unfinished as a conceptual tool. In 2022 she was Highly Commended and won the People's Choice award with See me, a portrait of her daughter. In 2026, Lees received an Honourable Mention from artist and judge Jude Rae in the Adam Portrait Award for Made-to-Measure, a self-portrait constructed from woven, painted soft measuring tapes. The work was also runner-up in the People's Choice Award.

Commercial art Lees has been commissioned several times by New Zealand Post to design special commemorative editions of stamps and coins. She has designed two separate editions of stamps featuring The Lord of the Rings, the first in 2002-03, and the second in 2021 marking the 20th anniversary of the release of The Fellowship of the Ring. Alongside the 2021 stamps, Lees also designed sets of Lord of the Rings commemorative silver coins. The following year, Lees was again commissioned by New Zealand Post to design five commemorative gold and silver coins for the Platinum Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II. Design of the 2023 New Zealand Annual Coin - Native Bee - Ngaro Huruhuru. In 2025 Lees illustrated and designed a special 2025 Round Kiwi addition stamp series celebrating Aotearoa New Zealand’s unique national bird, the kiwi.

Exhibitions

Solo 2015 Assimilate, Exhibitions Gallery, Wellington 2017 Vagrant Mind, Exhibitions Gallery, Wellington 2020 Embracing Shadows, Artbay Gallery, Queenstown 2026 [Un]becoming , Page Galleries, Wellington

Group 2011 White Cloud Worlds, Dowse Art Museum, Lower Hutt, Wellington 2012 White Cloud Worlds, Lopdell House, Auckland; Museum of Art and History, Rotorua; Waikato Museum of Art and History, Hamilton; Rona Gallery, Wellington 2012 Villains and Assassins, Strychnin Gallery, Berlin 2013 Adam Portrait Exhibition Tour: New Zealand Portrait Gallery, Wellington; Lopdell House, Auckland; Percy Thomson Gallery, Stratford; Millenium Gallery, Blenheim; The Sute, Nelson; Eastern Southland Gallery, Gore 2015 The Creatives, Puke Ariki Museum, New Plymouth 2015 White Cloud Worlds, Academy of Fine Arts, Wellington 2020 Adam Portrait Award, New Zealand Portrait Gallery, Wellington 2022 Perspective, Exhibitions Gallery, Wellington 2022-2023 Adam Portrait Exhibition Tour: Millenium Gallery, Blenheim; Percy Thomson Gallery, Stratford; Wallace Arts Centre, Auckland 2025 Me: Artists Paint Themselves, New Zealand Portrait Gallery, Wellington. 2025 Wing and a Prayer, The Dowse Art Museum, Wellington. 2026 Aspiring Art Prize, Wanaka.

Publications

Works by Sacha Lees have been published in the following books: 2002 The Lord of the Rings – The Art of 'The Fellowship of the Ring 2003 The Lord of the Rings – The Art of 'The Two Towers''' 2004 The Art of ‘The Lord of the Rings 2008 Spectrum 15 – The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art 2009 Spectrum 16 – The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art 2010 Spectrum 17 – The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art 2011 White Cloud Worlds, volume 1 2012 White Cloud Worlds, volume 2 2012 Spectrum 19 – The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art 2015 White Cloud Worlds, volume 3 2015 Women of Wonder - The Best of Women in Contemporary Fantastic Art''