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Artworks
OVILOO TUNNILLIE, R.C.A. (1949-2014) KINNGAIT (CAPE DORSET)
Woman Emerging from Stone, Covering her Face, 1997stone, 16.75 x 7.25 x 9 in (42.5 x 18.4 x 22.9 cm)
signed and dated, "ᐅᕕᓗ / ᑐᓂᓕ / 97".Lot 157
ESTIMATE: $6,000 — $9,000
PRICE REALIZED: $6,000.00Further images
Typically depicted in long flowing gowns, Oviloo Tunnillie’s women are instantly recognizable as hers thanks to the incredibly distinctive carving style she developed over the course of her career. Her...Typically depicted in long flowing gowns, Oviloo Tunnillie’s women are instantly recognizable as hers thanks to the incredibly distinctive carving style she developed over the course of her career. Her grieving women were said to be in reference to family tragedies that the artist endured over the course of her life, including the murder of her father and death of her daughter. Oviloo was also known to reference the collective feeling of loss felt by the world after 9/11. A moving example was offered in the First Arts sale 1 Dec. 2020, Lot 107 (and is illustrated in Darlene Wight’s 2016 WAG catalogue Oviloo Tunnillie: A Woman’s Story in Stone, p. 56).
Particularly fascinating in this work is the emergence of the woman from a section of uncarved stone. One can only imagine the significance of this artistic decision. Uncarved or “raw” stone features elsewhere in Oviloo’s sculptural work, in several self-portraits as a carver, for example Self Portrait with Carving Stone (1998) and Woman Carving Stone (2008), both also illustrated in Darlene Wight’s catalogue, pp. 46 and 70. Here, however, the figure of a troubled woman truly emerges from the stone. Whether this enigmatic work depicts grief, shame, or “sculptor’s block” is open to interpretation, but the image is still likely autobiographical in nature.
References: For a similar work, see Grieving Woman [Repentance (Woman)], (2001), First Arts, 1 Dec. 2020, Lot 107. See also Grieving Woman (1997), Winnipeg Art Gallery Collection.
Provenance
Artemis Gallery, Parry Sound;
Acquired from the above by the present Private Collection, Toronto.
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