ALEX JANVIER, C.M., A.O.E., R.C.A., (1935-), DENE SULINE AND SAULTEAUX, COLD LAKE, AB
Blue Lake Sky, mid 1980s
acrylic on linen canvas, 30 x 36 in (76.2 x 91.4 cm)
signed, "Janvier";
titled by the artist, verso, "BLUE LAKE SKY".

ESTIMATE: $20,000 — $30,000

Provenance
Private Collection, B.C.;
A Vancouver Collection;
Acquired from the above by the preset Edmonton, AB Collection.

In the 1960s and 1970s Alex Janvier was one of the only Indigenous artists who integrated Modernist techniques with his Dene (Chipewyan) heritage to create a unique style. He was introduced to Modernism while studying under Marion Nicoll who taught him the art of Automatism, a style that emphasizes using impulse as a source of inspiration for creating art. From the end of the 1960s through the '70s and onwards, Janvier crafted a distinctive pictorial language that melded Dene aesthetics, natural themes, and poetic inspiration within the framework of Western abstraction.

Over the years, his most sought-after style evolved into what is exemplified in Blue Lake Sky: a central mass from which lashing lines sprout into tentacles that probe the canvas, evoking a fantastical, ethereal world. These linear elements not only echo Automatist techniques but also recall the Denesuline beadwork that adorned historical utilitarian and sacred objects. Additionally, the flower element present at the lower centre-right appears to be a direct reference to the rosettes originally rendered in quills on pre-contact objects. Melding these cultural references with the atmospheric, the nucleus of the canvas erupts with swathes of white and blue, layered in dramatic strata of color to evoke a body of water with clouds or perhaps even early morning fog. Glimmers of yellow and orange serve as beams of sunlight, casting their glow on the surface of Blue Lake, located just outside of Jasper National Park in Alberta. Dotting the painting are pairs of short, colourful strokes symbolic of blooming flora, while bands of terra cotta strokes anchor the composition, suggesting the sandy beaches lining Blue Lake's shore.

References: Janvier speaks directly on his relationship to beadwork in Derek Robert Swallow, The Art of Alex Janvier: A Blend of Euro-American and North American Indian [sic] Art Traditions, (Victoria, BC: University of Victoria, M.A. Thesis, 1988), p. 72.