stringtranslate.com

Alex Janvier

Alex Simeon Janvier, CM AOE RCA LL.D (/ˈdʒænvɪər/; born February 28, 1935) is a First Nation artist in Canada. As a member of the commonly referred to "Indian Group of Seven",[1] Janvier is a pioneer of contemporary Canadian Aboriginal art in Canada.

Career

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]

Alex 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 currently runs 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 Tsa Tsa Ke Kʼe (Iron Foot Place) was installed at Rogers Place in Edmonton.[8]

Style

Alex Janvier, the 'first Canadian native modernist,'[9] has 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 makes magic arts[clarification needed] and three-dimensional works. Two of his stylistic influences among Western artists are Paul Klee and Wassily Kandinsky, while among Native traditions he is particularly inspired by the abstract patterns of traditional hide-painting, beadwork and quillwork.[5]

Politics

Alex Janvier signed his paintings with his treaty number from 1966 to 1977 to protest government policies against Aboriginal people.[10] He also makes 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.[11]

Awards

Films and television

Education

Collections

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.[15] 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.[16]

References

  1. ^ "Indian Group of Seven". Native Art in Canada
  2. ^ "Alex Janvier". The Canadian Encyclopedia.
  3. ^ a b "Artist Alex Janvier's work on display at National Gallery". Calgary Herald, Peter Robb: November 26, 2016
  4. ^ "Works". cowleyabbott.ca. Cowley Abbott Auction, Important Canadian & International Art, December 6th, 2023. Retrieved 27 October 2023.
  5. ^ a b c Berlo, Janet C.; Phillips, Ruth B. (1998). Native North American Art. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 227–229.
  6. ^ "Governor General’s Awards in Visual and Media Arts: Announcement of winners". Mar 25, 2008 Canadian Council for the Arts]
  7. ^ "Alex Janvier comes full circle with National Gallery retrospective". Toronto Star, November 27, 2016, Vinay Minon.
  8. ^ "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
  9. ^ Centre for Canadian Contemporary Art
  10. ^ a b National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation Archived 2007-10-25 at the Wayback Machine
  11. ^ "Morning Star". Treasures Gallery, Canadian Museum of History
  12. ^ Alberta's top citizens chosen to receive province's highest honour
  13. ^ "Governor General's Awards in Visual and Media Arts Archives". /en.ggarts.ca. Governor General of Canada. Retrieved 2021-06-25.
  14. ^ "Alex Janvier to receive university's first honorary MFA | Alberta University of the Arts". www.auarts.ca. Retrieved 2019-05-25.
  15. ^ "Works". cowleyabbott.ca. Cowley Abbott Auction. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  16. ^ "Lot #46". cowleyabbott.ca. Cowley Abbott Spring Live Auction of Important Canadian Art. Retrieved 31 May 2024.

Further reading

External links