Lot 2
BILL NASOGALUAK (b. 1953)
Note:
Unflinching of eye, and unwavering in the clarity of his artistic statements, artist Bill Nasogaluak has developed a highly distinctive canon of images encompassing subjects as diverse as shamanism and Inuit mythology, Western Renaissance traditions, climate change, depression, and the impacts of industry in the North.
A self-taught artist with a passion for both Inuit and Western art history, Nasogaluak is an accomplished painter, sculptor, and instructor whose prescient artworks have been garnering notable curatorial attention in recent years. [1,2] Held in important private and public collections including the Art Gallery of Ontario and the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre, we are pleased to be able to offer ten diverse works by the artist (see lots 1 through 10 of this sale).
Liquor Bottle with Skull continues a theme in Nasogaluak's oeuvre in which the abuse of alcohol is closely associated with mortality. [3, 4] A skull sits in relief on the surface of a deformed liquor bottle in a gesture that invokes both poison sign and western traditions of the memento mori.
For important related works by the artist in the collection of the AGO, see the ongoing exhibit “Bill Nasogaluak”, Click here to read more.
References:
1. Art Gallery of Ontario, “Bill Nasogaluak” 2021-Ongoing, Click here to read more.
2. Prnewswire, “Bill Nasogaluak: Shapeshifter” FFA, January 2020. Click here to read more.
3. Nasogaluak, Bill, “Interview with Feheley Fine Arts”, 26 March 2020. Accessed February 21, 2022. Click here to read more.
4. Seidelman, Harold, author of The Inuit Imagination: Arctic Myth and Sculpture, personal correspondence February 17, 2022.