Kananginak Pootoogook, Howling Dog, undated, stone. The John and Mary Robertson Collection of Inuit Art, 1994 (37-085)
Exhibitions
With Rasp and File: Inuit Sculpture and Stonecut Prints
Frances K. Smith Gallery
17 July - 10 April 2011
This exhibition highlights the natural materials used in Inuit art from the 1960s and 1970s, and considers how their availability, marketability, and intrinsic characteristics affected artists’ aesthetic choices. Materials can differ in how they take a polish or yield to pressure, as well as in their colour and texture. Stone that is locally abundant can determine a distinctive regional style or characteristic, while aging requirements and export restrictions can limit the production of certain animal-derived carvings. From serpentinite to marble, walrus tusk to whale bone, the unformed shape of matter often inspires a sculptor more than any preformed idea.
The works in this exhibition are entirely drawn from the Art Centre’s collection, and represent artists from communities in Nunavut and the region of Nunavik (in Québec), including Tivi Etook, Peggy Ekagina, Kananginak Pootoogook and Levi Qumaluk. Complementing the sculptures are stonecut prints by acclaimed Kinngait artist Pitseolak Ashoona.
This exhibition will be used as a component of the Art Centre’s 2010-2011 school program, with our new installation of African Art, Collecting Visions. Mineral samples, kindly donated by the Miller Museum of Geology, Queen’s University, will be on display in the exhibition as touchable objects.
Alicia Boutilier