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Artworks
KENOJUAK ASHEVAK, C.C., R.C.A. (1927-2013) KINNGAIT (CAPE DORSET)
Two Owls with Birds, 1962graphite on paper, 19.25 x 26 in (48.9 x 66 cm)
signed, "ᑭᓄᐊᔪᐊ";
inscribed in graphite by Terry Ryan, "KENO";
inscribed in graphite in an unknown hand, verso, "KENOJUAK / 1962 / TWO OWLS WITH BIRDS".LOT 22
ESTIMATE: $6,000— $9,000Drawn in Kenojuak's distinctive early manner, with its bold cut contours still closely informed by the forms of sealskin appliqué, the composition here spreads across the sheet as a dense,...Drawn in Kenojuak's distinctive early manner, with its bold cut contours still closely informed by the forms of sealskin appliqué, the composition here spreads across the sheet as a dense, animated field. Owls and other birds press and overlap, wings flare, beaks meet, and talons cross, each form seeming to slip into the next. The spaces between them are equally active, little pockets of paper opening and closing as the eye travels through this flock.
By the early 1960s, Kenojuak was beginning to move beyond the heavier, more solid forms of her earliest graphite drawings, and that shift is already palpable here. The two central owls retain a broad, compact weight, while elsewhere repeated U and V-shaped marks ripple across the bodies to suggest plumage. Stripes and small ornamental details gather along necks and wings, giving the birds a richer surface without sacrificing the boldness of their underlying forms.
ND
Provenance
Collection of John and Joyce Price, Seattle, WA.
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