John Velardi’s small-scale sculptures are deceptively fragile, with their organic materials, such as clementine peels, flower petals, and onion skins, turned into rubbery forms under layers of paint and varnish. Often referencing pop culture, these pieces give the impression of being in a state of transformation. Frankenstein's Dragonfly (2015–17), which Velardi said in an interview with the American Folk Art Museum was inspired by a “really beautiful dragonfly” that he saw on his porch, has the iconic green head of the monster emerging from a form with diaphanous wings. In King Ezekiel of the Walking Dead (2015–17) he used a sea grape leaf to make its delicate form. On one side, it evokes the face of the character from the zombie TV series; on the other side, his pet tiger. Each side, with colorful details in felt-tip pen, gouache, acrylic, and other materials, is meant to be seen from all angles.
Velardi, who also goes by Johnny Velardi and JohnnyV, was born in 1956 in New York. He studied advertising at the Parsons School of Design but is largely self-taught as an artist. For many years, he worked as a court assistant in the Record Room at the New York and Bronx Family Courts. At the same time, he has been deeply engaged as a musician in the New York punk music scene, including in the bands pUbLiC NuIsAnCe and Knockout James. His visual art, sharing this experimental DIY spirit, involves paintings, drawings, pastels, sculptures, prop design, and masks, in addition to his sculptural pieces. These works frequently express experiences from his everyday life, such as his battles with chronic eczema that causes skin to crack, much like the splitting of the protective layers of the fruits that he uses as his materials.
Since the 1980s, Velardi has curated and been included in a number of exhibitions in New York, including several years of the Gramercy Park Art Show at the National Arts Club and the New York Court Employee Art Show.
Allison C. Meier and Valérie Rousseau, 2025
Text written as part of “Rethinking Biography,” an initiative supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).
