Aboriginal Art: Alex Janvier
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 bead work and birch bark artists. When he was eight, Alex Janvier was taken from his family, like most aboriginal children 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 attending the Alberta College of Art in Calgary. He graduated with honors in 1960. After graduation, Alex Janvier taught art at the University of Alberta in Edmonton for over 10 years. In the early 1970s, he turned his attention as a full-time artist. Alex Janvier paints in a unique style that is both beautiful and captivating. Janvier is one of Canada’s best-known First Nations artists, coveted by collectors everywhere.
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. Using a blend of abstract and representational styles, Janvier produces unique images that interest the viewer. Flowing geometric shapes are found in his work. He often uses bright colors and it’s said he chooses his colors based on symbolism. The size of Alex Janvier’s canvases varies, but he is very well known for his large pieces. 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.
Pictures: from left to right. -1st picture is called:"Fiction" -2nd picture is called:"Red Blue Beads" -3rd picture is called:"Fishing Entrapment" -4th picture is called:"Late Fall Sunlight" -5th picture is called:"Xmas 2005" -6th picture is called:"Drum Song Snow Cap" About Alex Janvier: -Considered one of the Indian Group of Seven -Participated in a Canada/China culture exchange in 1985 -Has received Lifetime Achievement Awards from: Cold Lake First Nations -The Tribal Chiefs Institute -National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation -Janvier has a gallery in the City of Cold Lake.
MURAL 1975: SHERWOOD PARK, ALBERTA
Or do you want to go back and explore: "The Native Artworks Webpage" This site provides the best Aboriginal Artists in America/North America and is structured in alphabetical order for easy use.
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