Kenojuak Ashevak, Owl in Blue
Kenojuak Ashevak
1927-2013
Inuit/Kinngait (Cape Dorset)
Date
1991
Medium Specific
Lithograph
Edition / State
17/50
Publisher
Cape Dorset Print #13 (1991)
Classification
Print
Dimensions
28 1/8 x 37 7/8 in. (71.4 x 96.2 cm)
Accession Number
2019.35.20.62
Credit
Gift of Gloria and Selig Kaplan
Memo / Artist Statement
Throughout Kenojuak Ashevak’s (1927-2013) illustrious career, the owl was a constant source of inspiration. In over 100 different prints, Ashevak captured the inquisitive expressions and majestic grandeur of owls using a wide range of vivid colours. What’s also impressive is the fact that each of these prints has a creative title to describe her hootiful creations.
Picasso has his blue period, and Ashevak has hers. Far from depression, Owl in Blue seems almost celebratory in the exuberance of its plumage and its polka dot body, strutting across the page. The black shape protruding from the back of the head could easily be a cockscomb raised in pride as the only solo owl print Ashevak featured in the 1991 Cape Dorset Print Collection.
https://www.inuitartfoundation.org/iaq-online/30-ways-to-describe-an-owl-according-to-kenojuak-ashevak
Picasso has his blue period, and Ashevak has hers. Far from depression, Owl in Blue seems almost celebratory in the exuberance of its plumage and its polka dot body, strutting across the page. The black shape protruding from the back of the head could easily be a cockscomb raised in pride as the only solo owl print Ashevak featured in the 1991 Cape Dorset Print Collection.
https://www.inuitartfoundation.org/iaq-online/30-ways-to-describe-an-owl-according-to-kenojuak-ashevak
Biography
Kenojuak Ashevak was born in the outpost camp of Ikirasaq, on the southern coast of Baffin Island, to Silaqqi and Ushuakjuk, a hunter, fur trader and respected shaman [1]. Ashevak first learned traditional skills from her grandmother Koweesa and began carving and drawing in her twenties alongside her husband Johnniebo Ashevak (1923–1972), with whom she shared her love of art [2]. While undergoing treatment in southern Canada, Ashevak began to draw to pass the time [3]. Upon returning north and settling in Kinngait (Cape Dorset) with her husband and family, she met James Houston, OC, FRSA (1921–2005) and Alma Houston, who were establishing an arts program and encouraged her to pursue graphic arts through the Co-op. In the late 1960s Ashevak quickly gained recognition for her prints and has since become arguably the most renowned Inuit artist in the world.
https://www.inuitartfoundation.org/iad/artist-info/bio-citations/Kenojuak-Ashevak
https://www.inuitartfoundation.org/iad/artist-info/bio-citations/Kenojuak-Ashevak
Date of Bio