Valentina Lapier
Blackfeet East Glacier, MT
Exhibit Year: 2014-2015, 2015-2016
About the Artist
Valentina LaPier was born in Browning, Montana and is an enrolled member of the Blackfeet Tribe. Raised in various places throughout the western United States, Valentina moved back to the Blackfeet Reservation in 2000. Currently, she splits her time between East Glacier and Kalispell, Montana.
Ms. LaPier began painting as a young girl, selling her first free-form painting at the age of fourteen. LaPier became a full-time artist in 1987, after returning to Montana from Washington. She was mentored by David Robey, Sr., a long time Montana artist. Ms. LaPier works primarily with acrylics, though her favorite medium is watercolor. She admires the works of Braque, Motherwell, Klee, and Kandinsky and her paintings reflect their influence.
For over 20 years Valentina has made a living as an artist, selling over 500 original paintings and some prints.
Valentina LaPier shares the landscape of her heart through her painted images, weaving together her life as a 21st Century artist, her Blackfeet heritage and her vibrant, mystical soul. These images and the ability to capture them on canvas come to Valentina as gifts. She graciously offers these gifts to us with their power and beauty.
LaPier’s work is contemporary, constructed from historical Native images, like those found in the traditional art of the Blackfeet people. Her artwork has become a vehicle, by which she educates both Native and non-native people on the history of the different tribal images used in her work.
Valentina LaPier’s artwork has been exhibited in San Francisco, Oregon, Washington, New Mexico, Washington D.C., and throughout Montana. Her artwork is in private collections in Europe, Canada, South America, and the United States.