Alex Janvier

Artist Bio: Alex Janvier, CM, AOE, RCA, LLD (b. 1935)

Alex Javier is an established name and pioneer in contemporary First Nations art, and his artistic career spans 40 years. He is one of the three remaining members of the Indian Group of Seven. Janvier created a unique style, which he regards as his own visual language, informed by the cultural and spiritual traditions of the Dene in Northern Alberta. Alex Janvier was born on Le Goff Reserve, Cold Lake First Nations, Northern Alberta. At the age of eight, he was sent to the Blue Quills Residential Indian School near St. Paul, Alberta, where the principal recognized his innate artistic talent and encouraged him in his art. Mr. Janvier received formal art training from the Alberta Institute of Technology and Art in Calgary (now the Alberta College of Art and Design) and graduated with honours in 1960. 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’s work can be found in many corporate and public collections, including the Canada Council Art Bank, Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, The Glenbow Museum, The National Gallery of Canada, Shell Canada Resources, as well as the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade.