Alex Janvier
CM, AOE, RCA
1935-2024
Alex Janvier was born on the Cold Lake First Nations, just outside the town of Cold Lake, Alberta in 1935. Proud of his Dene Suline heritage; it is a fundamental part of his artwork. Raised by his parents Harry and Mari, he had humble, but loving beginnings. His talent was encouraged by Father Rolande at Blue Quills Indian Residential School. Later, he obtained a Fine Arts Diploma from the Alberta College of Art in Calgary in 1960. He has not held back since. With international exhibitions, Alex has been recognized worldwide. His distinct curved lines and use of bright colour combinations are fundamental to his style. In 1995 he completed the astounding piece entitled “Morning Star” in the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Hull, Quebec. Because the piece was done on a ceiling dome, he earned the name “Alexangelo.” As one of Canada’s most accomplished artists, Janvier has also been commissioned to paint more than a dozen murals in major public buildings and schools across Canada.
Alex Simeon Janvier, CM, AOE, RCA, painter (born 28 Feb 1935 on Le Goff reserve, Cold Lake First Nations, near Bonnyville, AB). Recipient of the Governor General's Award for Visual and Media Arts, and a Member of the Order of Canada, Alex Janvier is often referred to as the first Indigenous modernist artist in Canada. Janvier is also one of the founding members of Professional Native Indian Artists Inc., also known as the Indian Group of Seven. His work is in major museum collections throughout Canada, including the National Gallery of Canada, Canadian Museum of History, Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, and Winnipeg Art Gallery. (See also Contemporary Indigenous Art in Canada.)
Notable Awards or Recognition:
2002 National Aboriginal Lifetime Achievement Award. 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.
Art Education: 1960 Fine Arts Diploma, Alberta College of Art, Calgary, Alberta.
Recent Exhibitions (present to 1975):
2004 Bearclaw Gallery, Edmonton, Alberta
2003 Janvier Gallery, Cold Lake, Alberta.
2002 Edmonton Art Gallery, Edmonton, Alberta: New Works in Watercolour.
2001 Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, Halifax, Nova Scotia: Journey.
2000 Edmonton Art Gallery, Edmonton, Alberta: Alberta Biennial of Contemporary Art
2000 (travelling). 1996 Canada House, Banff, Alberta.
1996 Thunder Bay Art Gallery, Thunder Bay, Ontario.: Recent Acquisitions.
1996 Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, Massachusetts: Gifts of the Spirit.
1995 Wallace Gallery, Calgary, Alberta.
1995 Big Brothers, Ottawa, Ontario.
1995 Robertson Galleries, Ottawa, Ontario.
1994 West End Gallery, Edmonton, Alberta.
1994 West End Gallery, Victoria, British Columbia.
1994 Wallace Galleries, Calgary, Alberta.
1994 Mendal Art Gallery, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan: Negotiating the Land.
1994 Assiniboia, Gallery, Regina, Saskatchewan.
1994 Assiniboia Bessborough Gallery, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
1994 Edmonton Art Gallery, Edmonton, Alberta.
1993 Yukon Gallery, Whitehorse, Yukon.
1993 Thunder Bay Art Gallery, Thunder Bay, Ontario: Alex Janvier, His First Thirty Years
1960-1990 retrospective (travelling exhibition to major galleries across Canada).
1993 Assiniboia, Gallery, Regina, Saskatchewan.
1993 Assiniboia Bessborough Gallery, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
1992 Wallace Galleries, Calgary, Alberta.: Janvier’s Classics.
1992 National Art Gallery: Land, Spirit, Power (travelling exhibition).
1992 Gallery 1450, Victoria, British Columbia.
1992 New Gallery, Calgary, Alberta: The Mentors.
1992 Robertson Galleries, Ottawa, Ontario.
1992 Gallery Moos Ltd., Toronto, Ontario.
1992 Unique Gallery, Grand Prairie, Alberta.
1992 Provincial Museum, Edmonton Alberta: Alberta First Nations: From The Four Directions
1992 Canada’s First People: A Celebration of Contemporary Native Visual Arts (travelling exhibition)
1991 Triangle Gallery, Calgary, Alberta.
1991 Unique Gallery, Grand Prairie, Alberta: One Trick Pony.
1991 West End Gallery, Edmonton, Alberta: 20th Anniversary.
1991 West End Gallery, Victoria, British Columbia.
1990 Wallace Galleries, Calgary, Alberta: Intertribal-Indian Unlimited.
1982 Gallery Moos, Calgary, Alberta.
1981 West End Gallery, Edmonton, Alberta.
1980 Gallery Moos, Calgary, Alberta.
1980 West End Gallery, Edmonton, Alberta.
1979 Gallery Moos, Toronto, Ontario.
1979 Hampton Galleries, Pontiac, Michigan, United States of America.
1979 Robertson Gallery, Ottawa, Ontario.
1979 West End Gallery, Edmonton, Alberta.
1978 Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Ontario.: ALEX JANVIER, Contemporary Native Art of Canada Series.
1978 West End Gallery, Edmonton, Alberta.
1978 Calgary Galleries, Calgary, Alberta.
1977 Gallery Moos, Toronto, Ontario.
1977 National Museum of Man, Ottawa, Ontario: Alex Janvier: a new dialogue between Native Sensibility and Western Tradition.
1977 Gallery Stenhusgarden, Linkoping, Sweden.
1976 Johnson Gallery, Edmonton, Alberta.
1975 Alberta Art Foundation (travelling exhibition: London, Brussels, Paris, New York, Montreal).
1975 Pollock Gallery, Toronto, Ontario.
1975 Dominion Gallery, Montreal, Quebec.
1975 Wallack Gallery, Ottawa, Ontario.
Collections:
Alberta Art Foundation, Government of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta. Alberta Indian Arts and Crafts Society, Edmonton, Alberta. AMACO Canada Ltd., Calgary, Alberta. The Late Helen E. Band Collection, Toronto, Ontario. The Saidye and Samuel Bronfman Memorial Collection, Montreal, Quebec. The Canada Council Art Bank, Hull, Quebec. Canadian Museum of Civilization, Hull, 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 Art Gallery, Edmonton, Alberta.. Edmonton Public Schools Board, Edmonton, Alberta. Esso Oil Resources, Calgary, Alberta. Glenbow Museum, Calgary, Alberta. Government of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta. Gulf Oil Resources, Calgary, Alberta. McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Kleinberg, Ontario. Mendel Art Gallery, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Montreal Museum of Fine Art, Montreal, Quebec. National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario. National Museum of Man, 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.
Commissions:
1998 “White Buffalo” ($200 coin), The Royal Canadian Mint, Ottawa, Ontario. 1993 “Morning Star,” Canadian Museum of Civilization, Hull, Quebec. 1986 Legoff School, Cold Lake Alberta. 1984 Bonnyville Health Centre, Bonnyville, Alberta. 1982 Town Hall, Cold Lake, Alberta. 1978 “The Seasons,” National Museum of Civilization, Ottawa, Ontario. 1976 Stoney Rapids Motel, Stoney Rapids, Saskatchewan. 1976 Muttart Conservatory, Edmonton, Alberta. 1975 County of Strathcona Building, Sherwood Park, Alberta. 1974 Onion Lake Elementary School, Onion Lake, Alberta. 1973 Sawridge Motor Hotel, Slave Lake, Alberta. 1973 Explorer Hotel, Yellowknife, North West Territories. 1972 Sherwood Medical Clinic, Sherwood Park, Alberta. 1971 Erminskin Kindergarden, Hobbema, Alberta. 1967 Indian Pavilion, Expo ‘67, Montreal, Quebec.
Awards and Honours
Member, Royal Canadian Academy of the Arts (1992)
National Aboriginal Achievement Award (now Indspire) (2002)
Queen Elizabeth II’s Golden Jubilee Medal (2002)
Member, Order of Canada (2007)
Governor General’s Award, Visual and Media Arts (2008)
Member, Alberta Order of Excellence (2010)
Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee Medal (2013)
Distinguished Artist Award, Lieutenant Governor of Alberta (2017)
Honorary Degrees
Doctor of Laws, University of Alberta (2008)
Doctor of Laws, University of Calgary (2008)
Doctorate, Indigenous Artists, Blue Quills First Nations College (2012)
Doctor of Letters, University of British Columbia (2017)
Master of Fine Arts, University of Alberta (2019)