Vintage Paintings from Maynard Johnny Jr.

We recently acquired two beautiful original paintings from Kwakwaka’wakw / Coast Salish (Penelakut) artist Maynard Johnny Jr., created midway through a career which has now spanned nearly four decades. Maynard is a self-taught artist who began working in his teenage years, inspired by legendary artists such as Robert Davidson, Art Thompson, Richard Hunt, and Mark Henderson, and has since created work for the Juno Music Awards, BC Ferries, and numerous exhibits around the world. He is known for his singular graphic style, blending graceful Coast Salish forms with bright colours and an overarching sense of powerful simplicity.

These two paintings, Moon and Frog, are wonderful examples of his signature style, and rare opportunities to own an original (and nearly vintage) work from Maynard.

Both Moon and Frog are diptychs painted in acrylic on canvas circa 2007. They are symmetrical, mirrored between their two canvases along the vertical axis, and make use of extremely limited colour palettes to elucidate their bold, flowing forms, all of which is completely captivating in-person. Both works are currently on display at Lattimer Gallery.