Artist Alex Janvier
Title Denesoulini [Northern Athabascan Art Series]
Media acrylic on canvas
Dated 1995
Size 65 x 49.75 in. / 165.1 x 126.4 cm.
Estimate $60,000 - $80,000

Notes
signed lower right; titled verso; unframed; two small scratches noted lower left

Reference
Janvier's paintings have had international exposure since the very beginning of his career, when he won a prize in an exhibition at the Vatican in Rome in 1950. Following upon international exposure of his greatly admired mural for the Indians of Canada Pavilion at Expo 67 in Montreal, his works were shown during the 1970s in many solo and group exhibitions across Canada and in other countries such as Belgium, China, France, Germany, Netherlands, Sweden and the USA.

Part of his broader exploration of Dene culture and northern Alberta landscapes, this work reflects his signature style combining vivid colours with calligraphic lines. The 's'- curve, 'feathered stems', and floral elements are characteristic of traditional Dene iconography which Janvier brilliantly reinterprets here with modern abstraction.

'Before my time, there was no abstract, except utilitarian geometric design. Therefore the works that have become known as Janvier’s works, are now classics.' Statement by Alex Janvier [July 23, 1992] in The Art of Alex Janvier: His First Thirty Years, 1960-1990, Thunder Bay Art Gallery, 1993. 'In time,' he went on to say, 'the work that is being produced and neglected will shine beyond our wildest dreams.'

Janvier was inducted into the RCA in 1992.

Provenance
purchased at West End Gallery, Edmonton; private collection, Alberta