Maynard Johnny was born in Campbell River in 1973. His heritage is Coast Salish and Kwak’waka’wakw. His colourful paintings blend cultural traditions in a unique contemporary style. He is a self-taught artist that has been drawing and painting since he was a child. Maynard has been influenced by many great Northwest Coast Native artists and he expresses his Native culture. His work has been widely recognized. In 2021 he was awarded a commission to design a painting for the exterior of a new BC ferry. He also received a First Nations Art Award from the BC Achievement Foundation for artistic excellence in traditional, contemporary or media art. Maynard has been in a number of exhibitions and shows.
From 2007 to 2016, Maynard participated in all exhibitions of Salish art curated by the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria (AGGV) and the University of Victoria Legacy Gallery downtown. At AGGV, the exhibitions were Transporters: Contemporary Salish Art in 2007, Victoria Collects: The Salish Weave Collection in 2012, followed by the travelling Record, (Re)create: Contemporary Coast Salish Art from the Salish Weave Collection presented at the Reach in Abbotsford, BC, the Nanaimo Art Gallery and the Comox Valley Art Gallery in 2014 and 2015. At the Legacy Gallery Downtown, visitors saw Maynard’s work in Perpetual Salish: Contemporary Coast Salish Art from the Salish Weave Collection in 2014, and in Out of the Frame: Salish Printmaking in 2016.
"To share the beauty of Coast Salish people and culture through my art. I create Coast Salish style art on paper, canvas, wood, glass and drums." Maynard Johnny
