Alex Janvier

Canadian First Nations artist (1935–2024)

University of British Columbia
Norquest College
Ontario College of Art and Design
Blue Quills First Nations College
University of Calgary
University of Alberta

Alex Simeon Janvier CM AOE RCA LL.D (/ˈdʒænvɪər/; February 28, 1935 – July 10, 2024) was a First Nations painter in Canada. A member of the Indian Group of Seven,^[1] he helped pioneer contemporary Aboriginal art in Canada.

Biography

Alex Janvier was born on Le Goff Reserve, Cold Lake First Nations, northern Alberta, on February 28, 1935^[2] of Dene Suline and Saulteaux descent. At the age of eight, he was sent to the Blue Quills Indian residential school near St. Paul, Alberta, where the principal recognized his innate artistic talent and encouraged him in his art.^[3]

Janvier received formal art training from the Provincial Institute of Technology and Art in Calgary (now the Alberta University of the Arts) where he encountered the influence of European modernists. Janvier's practice also drew from the rich cultural and spiritual traditions of the Dene in northern Alberta.^[4] He graduated with honours in 1960. He was one of the first Canadian First Nations artists to train in a professional art school.^[5] Immediately after graduation, Janvier took up an opportunity to instruct art at the University of Alberta. In 1966, the federal Department of Indian and Northern Affairs commissioned him to produce 80 paintings. He helped bring together a group of artists for the Indians of Canada Pavilion at Expo 67, among them Norval Morrisseau and Bill Reid. Janvier ran Janvier Gallery in Cold Lake, Alberta, with his family.^[6]

In 2016, a retrospective exhibition of his work opened at the National Gallery of Canada.^[7] Also, in 2016 Janvier's large mosaic Tsą tsą ke kʼe (Iron Foot Place) was installed at Rogers Place in Edmonton.^[8]^[9]

Janvier died on July 10, 2024, at the age of 89.^[10]

Style

Janvier, the 'first Canadian native modernist,'^[11] created a unique style of modernist abstraction, his own "visual language," informed by the rich cultural and spiritual traditions and heritage of the Dene in northern Alberta. His abstract style is particularly suited to large-scale works. He made magic arts^{[clarification needed]} and three-dimensional works. Two of his stylistic influences among Western artists were Paul Klee and Wassily Kandinsky while, among Native traditions, he was particularly inspired by the abstract patterns of traditional hide-painting, beadwork and quillwork.^[5]

Politics

Janvier signed his paintings with his treaty number from 1966 to 1977 to protest government policies against Aboriginal people.^[12] He also made references to treaty language in the "ironic and allusive" titles of his art, such as "Sun Shines, Grass Grows, Rivers Flow", grounding his abstract art in political conflicts.^[5]

Morning Star

In 1993, a large abstract painting by Janvier, Morning Star, was installed at the river end of the Grand Hall of the Canadian Museum of History, where a seven-storey-high dome rises above the granite floor. Janvier created the painting with the assistance of his son Dean, between June and September.^[3] Janvier titled the work Morning Star in reference to the star's use as a direction-finder. He planned the four areas of colour in the outside ring to represent periods in Native history: yellow, for early history in harmony with nature; blue, for the changes brought about by contact with European civilization; red, for revival and optimism; and white for reconciliation and a return to harmony.^[13]

Awards

2018: Member of the Alberta Order of Excellence^[14]
2008: Marion Nicoll Visual Art Award, Alberta Foundation for the Arts
2008: University of Calgary honorary degree, Doctor of Laws
2008: Governor General's Awards in Visual and Media Arts^[15]
2008: University of Alberta honorary degree (Doctor of Laws)
2007: Member of the Order of Canada.
2005: Centennial Medal for outstanding service to the people and province of Alberta.
2002: National Aboriginal Achievement Award ^[12]
2001: Tribal Chiefs Institute Lifetime Achievement Award.
2001: Cold Lake First Nations Lifetime Achievement Award.
1992: Royal Canadian Academy of the Arts.
1985: Canada/China Cross Cultural Exchange Tour because he made magic^{[clarification needed]} and three-dimensional arts

Films and television

2005: CBC ArtSpot
2004: The Sharing Circle, segment featuring Alex Janvier.
1991: Investment in Art, Alberta Art Foundation, Edmonton, Alberta.
1991: Echo Des Songes, Arthur Lamothe, Montreal, Quebec.
1984: Seeing It Our Way: Alex Janvier, CBC Edmonton.
1983: Our Native Land: Alex Janvier, CBC/CBO.
1973: Canadian Indian Canvas, Henning Jacobsen Productions, Toronto, Ontario.
1973: Colours of Pride, National Film Board of Canada.
1973: Alex Janvier: The Native Artist, Alberta Native Communications Society.

Education

2019: Honorary MFA, Alberta University of the Arts, Calgary, Alberta.^[16]
1960: Fine Arts Diploma, Alberta College of Art, Calgary, Alberta.

Collections

Alberta Art Foundation, Government of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta
Alberta Indian Arts and Crafts Society, Edmonton, Alberta
AMACO Canada Ltd., Calgary, Alberta
Art Gallery of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta
The Late Helen E. Band Collection, Toronto, Ontario
The Saidye and Samuel Bronfman Memorial Collection, Montreal, Quebec
The Canada Council Art Bank, Ottawa
Canadian Museum of History, Gatineau, Quebec
Cinader Collection, Toronto, Ontario
Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Ottawa, Ontario
Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, Ottawa, Ontario
City of Edmonton, Edmonton, Alberta
Edmonton Public Schools Board, Edmonton, Alberta
Esso Oil Resources, Calgary, Alberta
Glenbow Museum, Calgary, Alberta
Government of Alberta, Edmonton
Gulf Oil Resources, Calgary, Alberta
McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Kleinberg, Ontario
Mendel Art Gallery, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Montreal, Quebec
National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario
The Late Lester B. Pearson Collection, Ottawa, Ontario
Petro-Canada, Calgary, Alberta
Shell Canada, Calgary, Alberta
Thunder Bay Art Gallery, Thunder Bay, Ontario
Toronto Dominion Bank, Toronto, Ontario
Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba

Record sale prices

At the Cowley Abbott Auction of Important Canadian & International Art, December 6, 2023, Lot #20, Janvier's Ancient Relics (1980), oil on linen, 48 x 72 ins ( 121.9 x 182.9 cms ), Auction Estimate: $30,000.00 - $50,000.00, realized a price of $312,000.00.^[17] At the same auction house, May 30, 2024, Lot #46, Dene (The People) (1991), acrylic on canvas, 60.25 x 48 in ( 153 x 121.9 cm ), Auction Estimate: $50,000.00 - $70,000.00, realized a price of $120,000.00.^[18]

References

^ "Indian Group of Seven". Native Art in Canada
^ "Alex Janvier". The Canadian Encyclopedia.
^ ^a ^b "Artist Alex Janvier's work on display at National Gallery". Calgary Herald, Peter Robb: November 26, 2016
^ "Works". cowleyabbott.ca. Cowley Abbott Auction, Important Canadian & International Art, December 6th, 2023. Retrieved October 27, 2023.
^ ^a ^b ^c Berlo, Janet C.; Phillips, Ruth B. (1998). Native North American Art. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 227–229.
^ "Governor General’s Awards in Visual and Media Arts: Announcement of winners". Mar 25, 2008 Canadian Council for the Arts]
^ "Alex Janvier comes full circle with National Gallery retrospective". Toronto Star, November 27, 2016, Vinay Minon.
^ "David Staples: Don't moan, eh: $1.6 million in public art at Rogers Place draws praise and criticism". David Staples, Edmonton Journal, November 18, 2016
^ "'A thing of beauty': Alex Janvier's tile mosaic unveiled at Rogers Place". CBC News. September 8, 2016. Retrieved July 11, 2024.
^ Icon Indigenous Artist Alex Janvier Passed Away Age 89
^ Centre for Canadian Contemporary Art
^ ^a ^b National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation Archived 2007-10-25 at the Wayback Machine
^ "Morning Star". Treasures Gallery, Canadian Museum of History
^ Alberta's top citizens chosen to receive province's highest honour
^ "Governor General's Awards in Visual and Media Arts Archives". /en.ggarts.ca. Governor General of Canada. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
^ "Alex Janvier to receive university's first honorary MFA | Alberta University of the Arts". www.auarts.ca. Retrieved May 25, 2019.
^ "Works". cowleyabbott.ca. Cowley Abbott Auction. Retrieved December 7, 2023.
^ "Lot #46". cowleyabbott.ca. Cowley Abbott Spring Live Auction of Important Canadian Art. Retrieved May 31, 2024.

External links

Alex Janvier's Official Website
Seventh Generation Gallery in the Netherlands, Europe, including art of Alex Janvier.
Morning Star - Gambeh Then’ virtual exhibition from Canadian Museum of History.