Alex Janvier

Alex Janvier

Alex Janvier Biography

Of Denesuline and Saulteaux descent, Alexandre Simeon Janvier was born in 1935, one of ten children to Mary and Alex Janvier on the Le Goff Reserve of the Cold Lake First Nations, in northern Alberta. Janvier credits the beadwork and birch bark basketry of his mother and other relatives as having major influence on his painting style.

Janvier spoke the Dene language until the age of eight, until he was sent to the Blue Quill Residential Indian School. About this experience he has stated “Fortunately, I had a good foundation in my language. I learned from the old people, the elders and old ladies, and they made sure I was well instructed in my language, in my culture and in my livelihood.” He would go on to receive formal art training at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (now the Alberta College of Art in Calgary), graduating with honors in 1960. There he was taught by Marion Nicoll, who encouraged her students to explore automatic painting as influenced by Jock Macdonald.

Post graduation he worked as an instructor for the University of Alberta. In the spring of 1965 he travelled to New York to further his artistic career. During a stop over in Ottawa, Ontario he was offered a position as an Arts and Crafts Consultant with the Department of Indian Affairs (DIA). In 1966 he became involved with the organization of the Indians of Canada Pavilion for Expo ’67. This pavilion marked an important moment in the history of Indigenous cultural production and is credited for creating a sense of cultural autonomy amongst the artists who took part. These artists included Norval Morrisseau, George Clutesi, Tom Hill and Bill Reid.

By the mid 1970’s Janvier was exhibiting regularly across Canada. Also during this time he became involved with Professional Native Artist Inc. Based in Winnipeg, Manitoba the organization’s unofficial leader was artist Daphne Odjig, its goal, to support and promote the work of contemporary emerging artists. For over 50 years, Janvier has devoted himself to the development of Indigenous art as an artist, activist, educator and government consultant. He has produced thousands of paintings and continues to paint in his home and studio in Cold Lake, Alberta.

Selected Major Exhibitions:
2016 Alex Janvier: Modern Indigenous Master, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, traveling to Mackenzie Art Gallery, Regina SK, McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Kleinburg, ON, Beaverbrook Art Gallery, Fredericton NB, Glenbow Museum, Cagary AB
2014 7: Professional Native Indian Artists Inc., Mackenzie Art Gallery, Regina SK
2012 Alex Janvier, Art Gallery of Alberta, Edmonton AB
1993 Alex Janvier: His First Thirty Years 1960-1990, Thunder Bay Art Gallery; retrospective traveling to major galleries across Canada
1992 Land, Spirit, Power: First Nations Art at the National Gallery of Canada, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa (traveling exhibition)
1989 In the Shadow of the Sun, Canadian Museum of Civilization, Hull, QC
1987 Eight from the Prairies, Thunder Bay Art Gallery, Thunder Bay, ON
1972 Treaty Numbers 23, 287, 1171, Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, MB

Selected Awards:
2018 Member of the Alberta Order of Excellence
2008 Mairon 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
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
2001 Tribal Chiefs Institute Lifetime Achievement Award.
2001 Cold Lake First Nations Lifetime Achievement Award.
1992 Royal Canadian Academy of the Arts.

Selected Public Collections:
Art Gallery of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta
The Late Helen E. Band Collection, Toronto, Ontario
The Saidye and Samuel Bronfman Memorial Collection, Montreal, Quebec
Canadian Museum of History, Gatineau, Quebec
Glenbow Museum, Calgary, Alberta
Government of Alberta, Edmonton
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
Thunder Bay Art Gallery, Thunder Bay, Ontario
Toronto Dominion Bank, Toronto, Ontario
Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba

Artist Specialization – Lyrical Abstraction: Janvier’s unique and authentic style, a combination of Indigenous and modern art influences and techniques, is not seen anywhere else in the world. While Janvier recognizes artists such as Wassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee and Hans Hoffman as influences, his unique style is infused with the iconography of his Dene heritage and culture.