In this sculpture, Kenojuak Ashevak has created an image in which personality abounds. The bear-owl transformation figure appears to be smiling as he cuddles up to an owl spirit whose open beak suggests laughter or conversation. The two happily commune in their own world, separate from everything around them, sharing their private communication. In some ways, this large work reminds us of the much smaller carving, Smiling Polar Bear (Lot 1 in this auction), in which a happy bear appears to be swaying or even dancing. Both sculptures hail from the first half of the 1960s, early in Kenojuak’s career. We also recall her Double-Owl Figure from slightly later in the decade, with its charming big-eared owl spirit (see First Arts, 4 December 2023, Lot 30). It is always a treat to encounter the artistic license, joyfulness, and whimsy that crop up in Kenojuak’s work of the period.

References: For other sculptures by Kenojuak from the 1960s see First Arts, 5 December 2022, Lot 39; First Arts, 4 December 2023, Lots 8 and 30; First Arts, 10 June 2024, Lot 82. See also the section on Kenojuak’s sculptures in Jean Blodgett, Kenojuak, (Toronto: Firefly Books / Mintmark Press Ltd., 1985), pp. 67-72.