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Alex Janvier
Alex Janvier paints in a completely unique style that is both beautiful and thought provoking. If you ever have the opportunity to see one of his exhibitions, don’t pass it up. You’ll see for yourself why Janvier is one of Canada’s best-known First Nations artists, coveted by collectors everywhere.Born in 1935 on the Cold Lake First Nations reserve in northern Alberta, Alex Janvier felt the urge to create at an early age. The creative spark ran in his family; his mother and other family members were proficient beadwork and birch bark artists.
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Alex Janvier the Student
When he was eight, Alex Janvier was taken from his family, like most aboriginal children at the time. He was placed in a residential school. It was there that he was first given the tools to paint and where his first paintings were done. Janvier was hooked.Most aboriginal artists of Janvier’s generation are self-taught. Janvier chose a different path, attending the Alberta College of Art in Calgary. He graduated with honours in 1960.
After graduation, Alex Janvier taught art at the University of Alberta in Edmonton. In the early 1970s, he turned his attention to his art full-time.
The Art of Alex Janvier
Although his work is influenced by other artists, most notably Swiss artist Paul Klee and Russian artist Wassily Kandinsky, it is definitively his own. In fact, once you’ve viewed a few of Janvier’s paintings, you’ll be able to recognize his work immediately without looking at the signature.Using a blend of abstract and representational styles, Janvier produces unique images that haunt the viewer. Both geometric shapes and flowing shapes are found in his work. He often uses bright colours and it’s said he chooses his colours based on Dene symbolism.
The size of Alex Janvier’s canvases varies, but he is very well known for his large pieces. In fact, Janvier has done several commissioned murals in the last few decades. His work hangs in the Muttart Conservatory in Edmonton, Alberta and the County of Strathcona Building in Sherwood Park, Alberta, as well as at The National Museum of Man. He also painted a mural for the 1983 World University Games in Edmonton.
Janvier’s Morning Star
One of the highlights of Janvier’s career was something of a Michaelangelo moment: in 1993 he painted the dome of the Grand Hall of the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Hull, Quebec.His mural “Morning Star” is now displayed seven stories above viewers. The painting is an amazing 418 square metres. With the help of his son, Dean, Janvier completed the painting in just four months.
Morning Star is a representation of four stages Canada’s First Nations have gone through. The yellow section represents the balanced way of living they had before Europeans arrived. The blue section shows the effect of Europeans on First Nations. The red area signifies a period of renewal and the white a return to balance and harmony. The white circle in the centre of the painting is the morning star, the source of all creation and a guiding light to a future destination.
A Few Facts About Alex Janvier
