About the artist
I paint to remember how to see.
I am Lee Ghilain, a contemporary abstract artist and citizen of the Cherokee Nation. Every painting begins with something I can’t quite say out loud.
Home is the thread through everything.
I grew up near the Texas coast, raised by my Cherokee grandmother and shaped by water, open sky and a longing for safety. Years spent living in Mexico and traveling across the country continue to enter the work, but home is never simply a location. It is belonging. It is faith. It is something we learn to carry within us.
Living with macular degeneration changed the way I see and the way I paint. I stopped chasing precision and began trusting instinct more fully. Color, texture, movement and prayer gather in layers until the painting says what I could not.
My work is held in the permanent collection of the Cherokee Nation and in private collections throughout the United States and abroad. In 2026, my work was selected for exhibition at D Contemporary in London and recognized by Arts to Hearts Project.
Download Selected CV“I don’t want to show you my memories. I want to awaken yours.”
That belief now carries the paintings beyond the canvas through sound, light, scent and participation—experiences that begin with an original painting and open into something shared.
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