John Valvo

Year of birth: 2002
Where do you live: Philadelphia
Your education: Albion Liberal Arts
Describe your art in three words: Perspective changing reflections
Your discipline: Painter and Musician
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Your work spans a range of mediums. How do you decide which medium to use for a specific project?

When choosing a medium for a project the first question I ask myself is what space I want to be held in the viewer’s memory. When I want to be more direct and leave the audience with something specific to meditate on I defer to my physical works in sculpture and oil painting. If I intend to absorb and immerse the viewer, putting focus on the subjective feelings that are individually developed, I will work on a music project. The repetition of a song allows the listener to reflect and relate to the project differently.

John Valvo | Wait!

The theme of nostalgia seems central to much of your work. Could you share what personal memories or collective histories influence your art the most?

My work is very heavily informed by the experiences in my childhood that required me to develop the most. My history and upbringing within my family influences me heavily as lots of my work delves into reflections on my familial ties and my relationship with others I hold closer than family. On the inside I long for the days when I was young and too ignorant to worry, even that which required me to develop in a way I was not prepared for is wrapped in a bright-colored bow as I look back.

In your process, you mention a tactile approach. How does working with different materials affect the emotional resonance of your pieces?

In working in multiple mediums, my work echoes its own themes and ideas. This allows concepts to be more cemented in the mind. The reverberation of ideas through different forms creates a weaving in perception, allowing for the contemplation of one theme from multiple sides.

Your work often touches on themes of resilience and triumph over hardship. How do you see art as a tool for healing or expressing personal strength?

While working I’m in conversation with the piece, I use this dialogue to reframe my thinking on the situations that bring me the most stress. I try to flip my perspective to the other end of the spectrum and use this as a tool to overcome the hurdles I face. It’s important to me not to forget these stressors, they made me who I am and are a testament to my perseverance.

John Valvo | Snapseed

Could you walk us through the evolution of your artistic practice since you began working with oil painting, music, and other mediums in 2021?

My artistic practice started in 2021 with textile work, which I knew wasn’t my calling but was the most accessible at the time. At the beginning of 2022, I had started painting and had begun taking music more seriously. As I developed as a painter under my mentors, Michael Dixon and Marina Ballout, I was able to spread that growth across all mediums. As they started to become more cohesive through 2024, the conversation between the mediums became more evident. Now I see all my mediums as a single expression that branches out in different directions.

How do you approach the idea of memory and material? How do you weave those concepts together in your art?

With memory being a central theme throughout my work it is important to me that I’m intentional about my choice of form and how I want it to reflect in the specific piece. In my physical work, I use a mixture of fixed pieces that cannot be manipulated and soft, changing, lighter pieces to represent the difference between solid, picture-perfect memories and those that are only a fleeting sensation, where the details aren’t emphasized.

The relationship with memory in my music is different. In a song, I choose different lines or phrases that I will repeat to emphasize their importance and reflect their repetitiveness personally. Within the lines, I am direct and upfront about those solid, unchanging memories, while the fleeting memories are relayed in depth through levels of figures of speech.

Could you describe one of your favorite works that you feel truly captures the spirit of your artistic journey?

My album “Like It Was Yesterday” encapsulates my artistic spirit the most accurately. In the project, I journey through my lows using poetic elements to reflect the layers of constant introspection. I use beats that combine atmospheric melodies and heavy bass to absorb the listener and transfer the way I felt in the song. Throughout the album, I talk about my hardships, my regrets, my reflections, and things that hold me back. In this way, it perfectly reflects my mind at the time through my best technical work.