Artist Talk with John Well-Off-Man — Language, Land, & Resistance
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Reception & Artist Talk with John Well-Off-Man
Free and open to the public
Friday, October 16 | 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
About the Exhibition:
John Well-Off-Man (Chippewa-Cree)’s multidisciplinary practice — spanning printmaking, painting, and video/sound installation — centers on continuity: of memory, movement, land, and language within a broader Indigenous life. Rooted in experiences on Rocky Boy’s Reservation in Montana, his work carries both acts of reflections and change.
One focus is Indigenous language revitalization. Painted Cree syllabics on wood panels emphasize learning as a visual and communal process, encouraging younger generations to continue speaking and sustaining the language.
Well-Off-Man’s prints draw from close observation of natives on the move. Optical patterns and rhythmic mark-making evoke the motion of fancy shawl and jingle dress dancers, capturing fleeting movement through abstraction and experimentation. Other works incorporate QR codes and barcodes, referencing systems of information and commerce while questioning what is made visible — and what is erased — within them, particularly the labor and identity of Indigenous dress makers.
Personal memory and the significance of place remain central to his work. His linocuts, inspired by a longstanding interest in music, reflect and recall his daughters’ training in classical music, performances, and education. Others recall the once-clean waters of Rocky Boy speak to environmental loss and the ongoing impact of industrial development on Indigenous lands. In collaboration with his daughter Sonya Well-Off-Man, the video and sound installation further addresses water contamination, pairing personal history with present realities.
Across different media, Well-Off-Man’s work invites viewers into a space of learning, witnessing, and responsibility — where cultural knowledge, environmental care, and lived experience remain deeply interconnected.
This exhibition was curated by Nicole Maria Evans, Chief Curator/Director of Curatorial Affairs. Exhibitions at the museum are supported in part by the Montana Arts Council, a state agency funded by the State of Montana, and the National Endowment for the Arts. We are funded in part by coal severance taxes paid based upon coal mined in Montana and deposited in Montana's cultural and aesthetic projects trust fund. Additional funding is provided by museum members and the citizens of Cascade County, Davidson Family Foundation, D.A. Davidson, Montana Credit Union, Hotel Arvon, First Interstate Bank, an anonymous donor, and Kelly’s Signs & Design.
America 250 sponsors for this exhibition include Steve L’Heureux and Carol Bradley, Gaines & Beth McFadden, Alanna Zrimsek, and Doug Zody. Thank you!
Free and open to the public
Friday, October 16 | 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
About the Exhibition:
John Well-Off-Man (Chippewa-Cree)’s multidisciplinary practice — spanning printmaking, painting, and video/sound installation — centers on continuity: of memory, movement, land, and language within a broader Indigenous life. Rooted in experiences on Rocky Boy’s Reservation in Montana, his work carries both acts of reflections and change.
One focus is Indigenous language revitalization. Painted Cree syllabics on wood panels emphasize learning as a visual and communal process, encouraging younger generations to continue speaking and sustaining the language.
Well-Off-Man’s prints draw from close observation of natives on the move. Optical patterns and rhythmic mark-making evoke the motion of fancy shawl and jingle dress dancers, capturing fleeting movement through abstraction and experimentation. Other works incorporate QR codes and barcodes, referencing systems of information and commerce while questioning what is made visible — and what is erased — within them, particularly the labor and identity of Indigenous dress makers.
Personal memory and the significance of place remain central to his work. His linocuts, inspired by a longstanding interest in music, reflect and recall his daughters’ training in classical music, performances, and education. Others recall the once-clean waters of Rocky Boy speak to environmental loss and the ongoing impact of industrial development on Indigenous lands. In collaboration with his daughter Sonya Well-Off-Man, the video and sound installation further addresses water contamination, pairing personal history with present realities.
Across different media, Well-Off-Man’s work invites viewers into a space of learning, witnessing, and responsibility — where cultural knowledge, environmental care, and lived experience remain deeply interconnected.
This exhibition was curated by Nicole Maria Evans, Chief Curator/Director of Curatorial Affairs. Exhibitions at the museum are supported in part by the Montana Arts Council, a state agency funded by the State of Montana, and the National Endowment for the Arts. We are funded in part by coal severance taxes paid based upon coal mined in Montana and deposited in Montana's cultural and aesthetic projects trust fund. Additional funding is provided by museum members and the citizens of Cascade County, Davidson Family Foundation, D.A. Davidson, Montana Credit Union, Hotel Arvon, First Interstate Bank, an anonymous donor, and Kelly’s Signs & Design.
America 250 sponsors for this exhibition include Steve L’Heureux and Carol Bradley, Gaines & Beth McFadden, Alanna Zrimsek, and Doug Zody. Thank you!
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Where is it happening?
1400 1st Ave N, Great Falls, MT, United States, Montana 59401
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.
Host or PublisherParis Gibson Square Museum of Art
