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Artworks
JOHN PANGNARK (1920-1980) ARVIAT (ESKIMO POINT)
Figure with Outstretched Arms, c. 1968-69stone, 4 x 5.5 x 3 in (10.2 x 14 x 7.6 cm)
signed, "ᐸᓂᔭ".LOT 112
ESTIMATE: $4,000 — $6,000Further images
After about 1970 Pangnark’s sculptural style veered quite strongly towards abstraction and minimalism, to the point that many works are barely discernible as human figures. But Pangnark’s works from the...After about 1970 Pangnark’s sculptural style veered quite strongly towards abstraction and minimalism, to the point that many works are barely discernible as human figures. But Pangnark’s works from the late 1960s are notable not only for their unmistakable figural content (despite their abstraction) but often also for their obvious gestural poses. Figure with Outstretched Arms is one of the masterpieces of this period and type. “Dancing Man” would be an apt alternate title; the figure’s facial expression is clearly ecstatic despite its minimally carved features, and it is easy to imagine him swaying to music as he spreads his arms wide in joy. Bearing only the subtlest of tool marks, the sculpture is polished to a lovely sheen that catches the light, enhancing the feeling of lively movement and grace.
References: For a similarly styled figure with one arm outstretched, dated 1969, see George Swinton, Sculpture of the Inuit, (Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1972/92), fig. 615, p. 210. For other similarly styled works, dated 1968-69, see Norman Zepp, Pure Vision: The Keewatin Spirit, (Regina: Norman Mackenzie Art Gallery, 1986), cats. 20-22, pp. 76-78; and Canadian Eskimo Arts Council, Sculpture / Inuit: Masterworks of the Canadian Arctic, (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1971), cats. 394-396. See numerous examples of the artist’s work in Bernadette Driscoll, Eskimo Point/Arviat, (Winnipeg Art Gallery, 1982:13-19), cats. 59-72, pp. 84-93. Several late 1960s works are illustrated in Oonark / Pangnark, travelling exhibition catalogue, (Ottawa: National Museum of Man / Canadian Arctic Producers, 1970), unpaginated.Provenance
Collection of John de Visser, Toronto (de Visser was a renowned Canadian photographer and photojournalist);
His sale, Feheley Fine Arts, Toronto;
Acquired from the above Norman Zepp & Judith Varga, Saskatoon, SK, 2006.Exhibitions
Toronto, Feheley Fine Arts, de Visser’s Vision: Sculpture from the John de Visser Collection, April 8 - May 5, 2006, cat. 18, p. 16.Publications
Ken Mantel et al., Tuvaq: Inuit Art and the Modern World, (Bristol, UK: Sansom and Company Ltd., 2010), fig. 107, p. 117.
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