John Velten’s artistic practice is a relational philosophy made material. Deeply invested in understanding selfhood from a continual, circular, set of emergent relationships, Velten prompts visitors to ask themselves: what connections have been crucially important to me? His professional history attests to his strong belief in the power of relationship building. Velten’s artistic biography is rich with community and collaborative projects, having worked on initiatives such as Vancouver Indigenous Fashion Week, Vancouver Art Community Live Painting, Vancouver Mural Festival, and many more.

His articulation of relationality calls attention to the expansiveness of these cultivated networks. Across self, persons, earth, and spirit, the largest experiences of connection begin with the personal and a deep trust in intuition. Looking inwards, one must take care of themselves, recognizing that this self is always shaped by forces outside it. Velten brings awareness to which worlds we ought to invest in, and those that in turn invest in us. These worlds are often personal, as are the artistic mentorships he has been a part of with Tahltan artist Alano Edzerza and Haida artist Rick Adkins. Yet, they extend beyond the physical, material, bodily self into the spiritual and celestial. As gravity forms circles, so to do circles form us.

About the Artist

Born and raised in Kwikwetlem (Coquitlam), John Velten has been an illustrator from a young age, possessing over 10 years of drawing and illustrative practice, three years of fine arts production and one year of event producing experience. John’s studied Business and Fine Arts production under the mentorship of Alano Edzerza and Design Foundations through the mentorship of Rick Adkins. He continues his practice carving and sculpting with Phil Gray and Klatle Bhi. Throughout the year of 2019, John’s involvement with the community has been providing & facilitating meetups for artists, providing spaces for creatives to pull together in the genres of visual art, music, dance and storytelling. He currently is studying part-time at the Visual College of Art and Design in the 3D modelling and animation program and is set to graduate December 2020. John works independently as a fine artist, within modes of expression such as, painting, carving, metal works, mixed media, 3D modelling and illustration. In the past 3 year, portions of John’s works have been commissioned by The City of Vancouver, Vancouver Mural Festival, Vancouver art community, Lunar Fest and Foundry BC. John’s Mixed roots stem from Europe, with German ancestry and North-West Territories with Dene ancestry. These Contrasting lineages speak to his perspective, ability as an artist and affluence of different cultures.

Accessibility

This exhibition takes place upstairs in the Massy Gallery, which is only accessible by a flight of stairs. Unfortunately, no audio or visual tours are available at this time.⁣
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Masks are mandatory while in Massy Books.⁣

We acknowledge we operate on the traditional, ancestral, unceded, and occupied territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and sel̓íl̓witulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.