Sacha Lees


Sacha Lees is a New Zealand artist whose contemporary oil paintings explore 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 work is characterised by a fusion of classical techniques and modern sensibilities, often drawing inspiration from Baroque art to examine contemporary issues.In 2020 she was awarded the Adam Portraiture Award, New Zealand's premier portrait prize.

Training and career

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 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 2025, Lees was awarded a Master of Fine Arts degree from Massey University in Wellington. 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 like Jenny Saville and Jacqueline Fahey.

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.

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 Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Design of the 2023 New Zealand Annual Coin - Native Bee - Ngaro Huruhuru.

Exhibitions

Solo

  • 2015 Assimilate, Exhibitions Gallery, Wellington
  • 2017 Vagrant Mind, Exhibitions Gallery, Wellington
  • 2020 Embracing Shadows, Artbay Gallery, Queenstown

Group

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''