Lot 165
Kenojuak Ashevak ᑭᓄᔭᐊ ᐊᓯᕗ, CC, RCA (1927-2013)
Lot 165 Details
Kenojuak Ashevak ᑭᓄᔭᐊ ᐊᓯᕗ, CC, RCA (1927-2013), Kinngait (Cape Dorset)
UNTITLED (OWL), CA. 2009
coloured pencil and felt-tip drawing
signed in syllabics; inscribed verso; "CD 040 - 2859 - bd - 00/01 - 03 - 51 x 66 cm"; unframed
sheet 20 x 25 in — 50.8 x 63.5 cm
Estimate $4,000-$6,000
Provenance:
Spirit Wrestler Gallery, Vancouver, BC;
Private Collection, Toronto, ON
Note:
Owls never ceased to interest Kenojuak Ashevak, who used them as a subject for over 100 different prints—including the iconic Enchanted Owl—as well as her original drawings, as on offer here. Kenojuak’s fantastical owls could be audacious, festive, preening, and often surrounded by brightly-hued plumage. This owl is electric in its palette, as Kenojuak juxtaposes hot pink with green, creating a visual charge. Regarding her choice of colours, in 1980, Kenojuak told Jean Blodgett: “The colours are part of an informal system that I have. I select two colours that will go side by side, lining them up, saying that these two look good together. I use that system for my colouring and don’t change it halfway through the drawing.”
Kenojuak’s signature symmetrical composition is on display here, both energetic and harmonious. For Kenojuak, form always took precedence, though she often explained that her main objective as an artist was to inspire happiness in her viewers—mission accomplished with this radiant drawing.