Name/Title
A to ZzzzEntry/Object ID
2020.03.01Description
Les Ramsay (b. 1976, Vancouver, British Columbia) is a Métis artist. His artworks derive themselves from a longstanding fascination with everyday visual language and the recycling of domestic objects. Ramsay has played with the practice of painting working between oil or acrylic paint and textile. His works have been described as overpopulated collages of forms and symbols that comment on the excess of consumer culture.
In A to Zzz… (2019), the artist depicts the numbers 0 to 9 and the entire cursive alphabet on a bold blue and yellow background. The composition is reminiscent of a traditional needlework sampler. Ramsay, who is familiar with domestic crafts, draws inspiration from the kitschy folk art and the design of street signs that fill the streets of Vancouver. His compositions serve to examine how visual and textual elements form meaning, breaking them down into simple components.
Les Ramsay studied fine arts at Emily Carr University of Art + Design, Universitat de Politecnica in Valencia (Spain) and completed his MFA at Concordia University in 2015. His works can be found in many private and corporate collections such as The Claridge Collection, Medcan, the TD Bank and the RBC collection. He has exhibited in Canada, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and Germany, as well as in the US.