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Artworks
KENOJUAK ASHEVAK, C.C., R.C.A. (1927-2013) KINNGAIT (CAPE DORSET)
Inquisitive Owl, 2001 (Special Release #1)Printmaker: QIATSUQ NIVIAQSI (1941-) KINNGAIT (CAPE DORSET)
stonecut and stencil, 22.75 x 16 in (57.8 x 40.6 cm), framed, sight
25/35
LOT 87
ESTIMATE: $2,000 — $3,000
PRICE REALIZED: $2,640.00Inquisitive Owl presents one of Kenojuak’s favourite motifs, the owl, captured in a moment of wonder and, perhaps, surprise. Its upright plumage appears like an antenna around its head has...Inquisitive Owl presents one of Kenojuak’s favourite motifs, the owl, captured in a moment of wonder and, perhaps, surprise. Its upright plumage appears like an antenna around its head has a comically ruffled appearance, like a woman’s tousled hair sprouting antlers, while its wide, yellow eyes seem to probe and process information. Because of the scale of this solitary bird, we are invited to marvel at the play of colour and texture: the warm orange of its body that mingles and wanes to reveal the blank white of the sheet; the deep red and spilling against the black of its wings; the shimmering blue of the feathers on its head, cloaked on either side by dense black ink.
References: An excellent resource for the work of Kenojuak is Jean Blodgett, Kenojuak, (Toronto: Mintmark Press Ltd., 1985). More contemporary examples of the artist’s works can be seen in Anna Hudson, Jocelyn Piirainen, & Georgiana Uhlyarik, Tunirrusiangit: Kenojuak Ashevak and Tim Pitsiulak, (Toronto: Art Gallery of Ontario, 2018).Provenance
Albers Gallery of Inuit Art, San Francisco, CA, USA;
Acquired from the above by the present Private Collection, California.