"The goal of the artwork is to celebrate the joy of wilderness and adventure."
Jessa's paintings and drawings emerge from her experiences in the backcountry, blending the creation process with adventure to capture the spirit of exploration during her time outside. These adventurous artworks also serve as studies for murals, bringing backcountry adventures back to urban and daily life.
The artworks are about the human experience and temporality of wilderness. They aim to celebrate play and exploration, and these moments within the wild. These pieces explore the connectedness between all parts of the adventure - the sky, the trees, our footprints, etc - through the use of one, single, continuous line to create the foundation for each piece.
Relocating to BC in 2013 changed her art focus, and she has officially admitted to being an experiential landscape artist. Her pursuits of art and adventure led her to become a backcountry guide as well. You can find her at Baldface Lodge in the winter working as a snowboard guide, or in the mountains, at the beach, or on her bike exploring and working on the #getoutoftownvibe series.
Jessa Gilbert x RiNo Arts District x Burton Snowboards :: Denver CO ~3,600 sq/ft
Jesse Dawson photo : Whistler, BC
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Jessa grew up in Upstate New York before moving to Vermont to study Art and Art History at the University of Vermont... and to snowboard. She worked primarily as a figurative painter and product developer while also competing nationally in freestyle snowboarding.
She has been commissioned for public murals in addition to collaborating with brands like YETI, Suunto, Qualtrics, White Claw, Burton Snowboards, Great Big Story, Salomon Freeski, Stance Socks, Marriott Hotels, Baldface Lodge, La Mer, Mica Heli, Lambrecht Surfboards, Mountain Equipment Co-Op (MEC), Fox Racing, Trek Bicycles, Terry Bicycles, the Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival (VIMFF), Arts Whistler, Nelson District Arts Council, and many more projects listed here.
Jessa is currently based out of Squamish, British Columbia where she works as an Artist and backcountry guide. Here, the union of Art and the outdoors is part of her everyday life. Jessa’s work have been exhibited internationally, notably in New York, Denver, California, Montreal, Vermont, Vancouver, Squamish, and Whistler.
Interested in working together on a project, design, commission, or collaboration? Let's connect!
Suunto Creator Series :: A snowboard guide by winter, and a passionate artist inspired by nature Jessa Gilbert lives to be in the outdoors.
“We are in a time where we are starting to remember that public art is important,” Jessa says. “The beauty of public artwork is that you are creating artistic environments.”
Jessa worked with Great Big Story and Courageous Studio in the Summer of 2018 to create a large backcountry painting at the top of Little Ring Mountain, with the help of helicopter pilot Brad Friesen, and then created a mural in Squamish BC to forever encapsulate that moment in a permanent, public, larger than life medium. Watch the documentary from the experience for more on the art practice, a recount of the experience, and some notes upon the process.
