Kenojuak Ashevak, Radiant Owl
Kenojuak Ashevak
1927-2013
Inuit/Kinngait (Cape Dorset)
Date
1996
Medium Specific
Stonecut on rice paper
Edition / State
60/100
Classification
Print
Dimensions
24 1/2 x 27 in. (62.2 x 68.6 cm)Framed: 33 x 35 in. (83.3 x 88.9 cm)
Accession Number
2017.35.20.78
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.
Whether shown in its green or orange variants, Radiant Owl is a sight to behold. The tawny feathers on the orange version are interpreted as a tawny body on the green variant. Too, the green variant clearly shows that the orange was printed on an already green body. One wonders if the body on the orange version, which initially reads as black, had a similar inverse printing of green over orange, which ended up with a radically different colour. Whether the variants were meant as inverted versions of one another or not, the interplay of colour on both truly make this owl shine.
https://www.inuitartfoundation.org/iaq-online/30-ways-to-describe-an-owl-according-to-kenojuak-ashevak
Whether shown in its green or orange variants, Radiant Owl is a sight to behold. The tawny feathers on the orange version are interpreted as a tawny body on the green variant. Too, the green variant clearly shows that the orange was printed on an already green body. One wonders if the body on the orange version, which initially reads as black, had a similar inverse printing of green over orange, which ended up with a radically different colour. Whether the variants were meant as inverted versions of one another or not, the interplay of colour on both truly make this owl shine.
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