Composition from 1967 exemplifies the perfect combination of artist and master printer, where individual design sensibilities and meticulous technique merge to create an exceptionally sophisticated stonecut print. Kenojuak Ashevak created a complex, almost Escher-like image in which three large owls stare out at the viewer, set against a field of ravens and other birds, bears, wolves, and stylized feathers. Printer Eegyvudluk Pootoogook added a three-dimensional aspect by utilizing negative space for the owls, thus making them appear to float above the darker background elements. These range from a warm and glowing red/brown/gold at the top which gradually darkens to black. The success of this print lies in the striking imagery, brilliantly translated onto the stone by a talented printmaker.

References: For the still definitive study of the artist’s life and work see Jean Blodgett, Kenojuak, (Toronto: Firefly Books / Mintmark Press Ltd., 1985). Of the various Kenojuak prints of similar compositional format from the late 1960s, this image is the most complex and stunning.