Alex Janvier (photo by Abdul Malik)
The Alberta University of the Arts is granting an honorary Master of Fine Arts to Alex Janvier at its first convocation since the transition in February from the Alberta College of Art and Design.
Janvier, Denesuline from the Cold Lake First Nations, Treaty 6 Territory, has been a professional artist for decades. He is known for paintings that feature curved lines and bright colours.
A trail blazer for many Indigenous artists, he received a Fine Arts diploma with honours in 1960 from what was then the Alberta College of Art. He was the first Indigenous graduate.
One of his highest achievements was the recent solo exhibition, Alex Janvier: Modern Indigenous Master, at the National Gallery of Canada.
Janvier, 84, has no intention of slowing down. “The best art I did, was the ones I didn’t get to yet,” he says. “I’ll get to it.”
Daniel Doz, the university's president, says he cannot think of anyone more deserving than Janvier.
“His extensive work, although strongly based on his Indigenous roots, magnificently transcends cultures, times and locations," says Doz. "The poetic language he has developed over the years speaks to everyone's heart and spirit. He makes all of us at Alberta University of the Arts so proud to count him as one of ours.”
The degree will be bestowed at 1 p.m. on May 16 at the Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium in Calgary.
Source: Alberta University of the Arts