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Alex Janvier
RCA, CM, LLD |
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| View Works On Paper Exhibition Images |
| 2010 Alberta Order of Excellence |
| 2009 YouTube video |
| Click here for Alex's 2008 Rocky Mountain Outlook article |
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Please click on the images below for larger photos.
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| | |  | | LIGHT MOON | AJ159
watercolour, paper
23 x 30 in. | | | $ 3200 CDN |
| | | | | | | | | | |  | | AM COMING | AJ106
mixed media, paper
18 x 18 in. | | ROUND | | $ 2420 CDN |
| | Please email the gallery to be notified when new work by Alex Janvier arrives.
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Alex Janvier
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RCA, CM, LLD
Born of Dene Suline and Saulteaux descent in 1935, Alex Janvier was raised in the nurturing care of his family until the age of eight. At this age, the young Alex was uprooted from his home and sent to the Blue Quills Indian Residential School near St.
Paul, Alberta, Canada. Although Janvier speaks of having a creative instinct from as far back as he can remember, it was at the residential school that he was given the tools to create his first paintings. Alex credits his private tutoring in the summer
of 1950, from Carlo Altenberg, with teaching him important artistic basics in respect to draftsmanship, dynamics of positive and negative spatial relationships and mastery of color. Unlike many aboriginal artists of his time, Janvier received formal art
training from the Alberta College of Art in Calgary, Canada, and graduated with honors in 1960. Immediately after graduation, Janvier took up an opportunity to instruct art at the University of Alberta.
While Alex recognizes the artists Wassily
Kandinsky (Russian) and Paul Klee (Swiss) as influences, his style is unique. A March 2010 exhibition “I Love My Line” eloquently sums up, in Alex’s own words, a lifetime of Original Works of Art with his fine flowing lines. Commonly referred to as
“Signature Style” these paintings are only recognizable as ‘a Janvier’. Many of his masterpieces involve an eloquent blend of both abstract and representational images with bright, often symbolic colors. As a First Nations person emerging from a history
of oppression and many struggles for cultural empowerment, Janvier paints both the challenges and celebrations that he has encountered in his lifetime. Alex proudly credits the beadwork and birch bark basketry of his mother as influencing his
art.
As a member of the commonly referred to “Indian Group of Seven,” Janvier is one of the significant pioneering aboriginal artists in Canada, and as such has influenced many generations of aboriginal artists. By virtue of his art, Alex
Janvier was selected to represent Canada in a Canadian/Chinese Cultural Exchange in 1985. When he returned home Alex was inspired by the beautiful gardens in Beijing to create “Liyan Gardens”. Although he has completed several murals nationally, Janvier
speaks of the 450 meter squared dome entitled “Morning Star” at the Canadian Museum of Civilization, as a major highlight in his career. Another very significant commission “Beaver Hills”, painted in 1975, is at Strathcona County Hall, Sherwood Park,
Alberta. Alex is honoured to be creating a new mural for the Library Balconies in the upcoming Community Center in 2010; it will be adjacent to the Strathcona County Hall. Alex Janvier’s first mural was painted at the Indian Pavilion at Expo 1967. In
January 2004, one of Janvier’s original paintings was displayed in Paris, France at the Canadian Forum on Cultural Enterprise.
In recognition of his success, in 2008 Alex Janvier received two honorary Doctorates of Laws from Canadian
Universities, was presented the Governor General’s Award of Visual and Media Arts, and was awarded the Marion Nicoll Visual Arts Award. Alex is a recognized member of both the Order of Canada and the Royal Canadian Academy of the Arts. He has also earned
three prestigious Lifetime Achievement Awards from the National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation, the Tribal Chiefs Institute, and Cold Lake First Nations. In 2010 Alex will be invested into the Alberta Order of Excellence, the highest provincial honour
for Alberta.
Janvier’s passion and natural talent for creative expression remains strong to this day. In 2003, the Janvier family opened a gallery in the City of Cold Lake, Alberta, Canada and www.alexjanvier.com was launched in 2004. Although
Alex is known internationally as an artist and muralist, he has a very humble approach to life. He is grateful to be able to paint full time for it is what he loves to do. His paintings are full of culturally significant themes and history, sometimes
recording the pristine beauty of our Mother Earth. The magnitude of spirituality in his paintings will keep his art alive for centuries to come.
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Alex Janvier
RCA, CM, LLD
Affiliations
Royal Canadian Academy
Awards
AFA Award - Marion Nicholl Visual and Media Arts
Order of Canada, Member
Province of Alberta Centennial Medal for Outstanding Service to the people
Tribal Chiefs Institute Lifetime Achievement Award
Cold Lake First Nations Lifetime Achievement Award
Royal Canadian Academy of Arts, member
Canada/China Cross Cultural Exchange Tour
National Aboriginal Lifetime Achievement Award
Honorary Doctorate of Laws, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB
Honorary Doctorate of Laws, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB
Alberta Order of Excellence
Named one of Alberta's Most Influential People, Alberta Venture Magazine
Governor General's Award, Visual and Media Arts
Board of Governors' Alumni Award of Excellence
Collections
Canada Council Art Bank, Hull, QC
Alberta Art Foundation, Edmonton, AB
Toronto Dominion Bank, Toronto, ON
Gulf Oil Resources, Calgary, AB
Museum of Man, Hull, QC
Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Montreal, QC
Shell Canada, Calgary, AB
Esso Oil Resources, Calgary, AB
McMichael Canadian Collection, Kleinburg, ON
Alberta Indian Arts and Crafts Society, Edmonton, AB
AMACO Canada Ltd, Calgary, AB
The Late Helen E Band Collection, Toronto, ON
The Saidye and Samuel Bronfman Memorial Collection, Montreal, QC
The Canada Council Art Bank, Hull, QC
Canadian Museum of Civilization, Hull, QC
Cinader Collection, Toronto, ON
Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Ottawa, ON
Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade
Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, Ottawa, ON
City of Edmonton, Edmonton, AB
Edmonton Art Gallery, Edmonton, AB
Edmonton Public School Board, Edmonton, AB
Glenbow Museum, Calgary, AB
Government of Alberta
Government of Alberta, Edmonton, AB
Mendel Art Gallery, Saskatoon, SK
National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, ON
The Late Lester B Pearson Collection, Ottawa, ON
Petro-Canada, Calgary, AB
Thunder Bay Art Gallery, Thunder Bay, ON
Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, MB
Commissions
Town Hall, Cold Lake, AB
National Museum of Man, Ottawa, ON
County of Strathcona Building, Sherwood Park, AB
Sherwood Medical Clinic, Sherwood Park, AB
Indian Pavillion, Expo '67, Montreal, QC
Explorer Hotel, Mural Restoration Project, Yellowknife, NT
"White Buffalo", $200 coin, Royal Canadian Mint, Ottawa, ON
Morning Star at the Canadian Museum of Civilization Hull PQ
Legeoff School, Cold Lake, AB
Bonnyville Health Centre, Bonnyville, AB
"The Seasons", National Museum of Civilization, Ottawa, ON
Stoney Rapids Motel, Stoney Rapids, SK
Muttart Conservatory, Edmonton, AB
Onion Lake Elementary School, Onion Lake, AB
Sawridge Motor Hotel, Slave Lake, AB
Explorer Hotel, Yellowknife, NT
Erminskin Kindergarten, Hobbema, AB
Casino Dene in Cold Lake First Nation, AB
Community Center, Strahcona County, Sherwood Park, AB
"Poison Apple", Blue Quills College, St Paul, AB
Caernarvon Elemantary School, Edmonton, AB
RC Mission, Legeoff, AB
Blue Quills Indian Residential School Chapel, St Paul, AB
Blue Quills Indian Residential School Chapel, St Paul, AB
Credits
Participation in Environmental and First Nations issues
Board Member, Truth & Reconciliation Commission
Research Co-ordinator, Cold Lake First Nations Land Claims Negotiations
Committee Member for new art college, Blue Quills First Nations College
Thematic residencies at The Banff Centre for the Arts
Education
Fine Arts Diploma (Honours), Alberta College of Art, Calgary, AB
Private tutoring from Prof. Carlo Altenburg, U of A Extension Dept
Exhibitions
Edmonton Public Art Gallery, Edmonton, AB
Glenbow Museum, Calgary, AB
Wallace Gallery, Calgary, AB
Gallery Moos, Toronto, ON
West End Gallery, Edmonton, AB
Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, ON
Gallery Moos, Toronto, ON
Edmonton Art Gallery, Edmonton, AB
Department of Indian Affairs, Ottawa, ON
Honouring Tradition : Reframing Native Art, Glenbow Museum, Calgary, AB
Alberta Biennial Exhibition, Art Gallery of Calgary, Calgary, AB
Janvier Gallery, Cold Lake, AB
Alberta Foundation for the Arts, traveling exhibit
Bearclaw Gallery, Edmonton, AB
Janvier Gallery, Cold Lake, AB
Bearclaw Gallery, Edmonton, AB
The Canadian Forum on Cultural Enterprise, Paris, France
Janvier Gallery, Cold Lake, AB
Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, Halifax, NS
Edmonton Art Gallery, Edmonton, AB
Canada House Gallery, Banff, AB
Thunder Bay Art Gallery, Thunder Bay, ON
Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA
Hampton Galleries, Pontiac, MI
Gallery Stenhusgarde, Linkoping, Switzerland
Alberta Art Foundation, traveling to London, Brussels, Paris, New York and Montreal
Assiniboia Gallery, Regina, SK
Dominion Gallery, Montreal, QC
Gallery 1450, Victoria, BC
Johnson Gallery, Edmonton, AB
Mendel Art Gallery, Saskatoon, SK
National Art Gallery, Ottawa, ON
Pollock Gallery, Toronto, ON
Provincial Museum, Edmonton, AB
Robertson Galleries, Ottawa, ON
Triangle Gallery, Calgary, AB
"Shifting Patterns", Profiles Public Art Gallery, St Albert, AB
"I Love My Line", Bearclaw Gallery, Edmonton, AB
"Evasions des arts contemporains", Essor Des Vallees de L'Auxois, France, international guest artist
"Art & Vin - The Riches of Diversity, A Celebration of Canadian Art", Le Grande Cros, Var area, France
"Trading over the Mountains", Nyree Hazelton Arts Gallery, Vancouver, BC
"Among Nations", Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada
Canada House Gallery, Banff, AB
Banff 2010 - Works on Paper, Canada House Gallery, Banff, AB
Publications
Canadian Indian Canvas Colours of Pride, National Film Board of Canada
Seeing It Our Way: Alex Janvier, CBC
The Art of Alex Janvier: His First Thirty Years, 1960-1990
“Alex Janvier: Negotiating the land.” Canadian Art 11, no.4, Winter 1994: 79-80
Collins, Curtis J. “Janvier and Morrisseau: Transcending a Canadian Discourse.” M.A. Thesis, Concordia University
Cardinal - Schubert, Joane. “In the red.” In Borrowed Power: Essays on Cultural Appropriation, eds. Bruce Ziff. Pratima V. Rao, 122 - 133
CBC Artspots, Alex Janvier, RCA
The Sharing Circle, segment featuring Alex Janvier, airing February 21, 2004
Voices: Life and Work of the Woodland Artist, First Voice Multimedia Inc
Investment in Art, Alberta Art Foundation, Edmonton, AB
Echo Des Songes, Arthur Lamonthe, Montreal, QC
Our Native Land: Alex Janvier, CBC/CBO
Canadian Indian Canvas, Henning Jacobsen Productions, Toronto, ON
Alex Janvier: The Native Artist, Alberta Native Communications Society
GalleriesWest art review
CTV News
CBC Art Spots
CBC News
>CBC News
CBC News
Western Week, January "Advice sought from Alberta Indians on Expo"
Alberta New, January, "Museum Plans"
Fry, Jacqueline, Art Canada, Vol. XXIX, No. 3, p 72-77
Hill, Tom, Art Magazine, Vol. 5, No. 18
Artwest, March/April
Heritage Alberta, Sept/Oct
Contemporary Native Art in Canada: Alex Janvier, Royal Ontario Museum
Artscanada, Feb/March
Art West 7, no. 9, Oct issue
Warner, John Anson American Indian Art Magazine 10p 46-53, 77
Nemiroff, Diana, Robert Houle, and Charlotte Townsend-Gault. Land, Spirit, Power: First Nations at the National Gallery of Canada
Canadian Museum of Civilization, ed. “In the Shadow of the Sun: Perspectives on Contemporary Native Art.” The Museum, Hull, QC
“Morning Star.” Globe and Mail Metro Edition, October 15, 1993, p. C8
AFA Award nomination
The Calgary Herald
Galleries West
Galleries West exhibition review
Galleries West exhibition review
YouTube video
Edmonton Journal
The Calgary Herald
Teaching
Art Instructor, U of A, Extension Dept
Community Art Classes, various Northern Alberta communities
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All images copyrighted by the artists.
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