Image: Susie Saila 'ornamental knives', stonecut (2023, October)
News
Kinngait (Cape Dorset) | Pre-Release Reservations Now Open - 64th Annual Autumn Collection
Pre-release reservations are now open for the 64th Annual Autumn Kinngait (Cape Dorset) Collection (official release date is Saturday, October 21, 2023). 34 new works by 20 Artists.
You may preview the entire Autumn Collection at this link (or, click tab, top of page 'Kinngait 2023').
Enquiries may be directed to info@postmafineart.com
SHUVINAI ASHOONA | Special Mention at 59th Venice Biennale
In the News, April 23, 2022 -
Kinngait Artist Shuvinai Ashoona Awarded Special Mention at 59th Venice Biennale:
"On Saturday, April 23, Shuvinai Ashoona, RCA, was awarded a Special Mention during the opening ceremony of the 59th International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia. This is Ashoona’s debut in the Venice Biennale, with her work being included in the central exhibition The Milk of Dreams curated by Cecelia Alemani, on view until November 27. The Venice Biennale is the longest-running and most prestigious contemporary art event in the world, awarding prizes to artists participating in the International Exhibition since 1895". Cr.2a https://www.labiennale.org/en/art/2022/milk-dreams/shuvinai-ashoona
Related Press: Venice 2022 special mention.
Related: Link to special item release. Edition limited to only 30. Diptych (2 images). "In recognition of Shuvinai Ashoona being awarded the 2018 Gershon Iskowitz Prize for her outstanding contribution to the visual arts in Canada... a special edition lithograph".
MARCH 2022 NEW RELEASE: 'ISLAND LANDSCAPES' BY OOLOOSIE SAILA
New release of ISLAND LANDSCAPES, a folio of three large-scale etchings (etching and sugarlift)
by Kinngait Artist Ooloosie Saila. View:
2021 KINNGAIT AUTUMN COLLECTION AVAILABILITY
The 62nd Annual Kinngait 2021 Autumn Collection is available for acquisition October 16, 2021.
Saimaiyu Akesuk | Pee Ashevak | Ohito Ashoona | Shuvinai Ashoona | Olooreak Etungat | Nuna Parr | Malaija Pootoogook | Quvianaqtuk Pudlat | Qiatsuk Ragee | Ooloosie Saila | Pitaloosie Saila | Padloo Samayualie | Ningiukulu Teevee
The annual autumn collection preview is posted online every year between mid-August and early September.
If you would prefer an email reminder announcing availability of the spring/autumn 2022 collections,
please send your request to info@postmafineart.com.
2021 KINNGAIT SPRING COLLECTION AVAILABILITY
The Spring 2021 Kinngait Collection 'Wild Things' features 10 new images by Artist Papiara Tukiki.
Where To Find Kinngait Art On Exhibit Near You? Exhibitions
May 26, 2022 - September 18, 2022 | Printed Textiles from Kinngait Studios
"Printed Textiles from Kinngait Studios presents the little-known story of a group of Inuit artists and printmakers who produced a collection of graphic textiles in Kinngait, (Cape Dorset, Nunavut) in the 1950s and 60s – a period of social change that disrupted traditional language and relationships to the land. Made for interior décor during a period when artist-designed textiles were popular in North America and Europe, these mid-century designs depict legends, stories, and traditional ways of life. They provide vital points of connection between contemporary Inuit community members and the creativity and resourcefulness of previous generations".
Press: "The exhibit won the 2021 Governor General’s History Award for excellence in museums for its remarkable contribution to a better knowledge of Canadian history, says the AGGP".
June 2022 | Shuvinai Ashoona: NY Times, Making Art At the Top of the World (59th Venice Biennale)
April 23, 2022 | Shuvinai Ashoona Awarded Special Mention at 59th Venice Biennale
"On Saturday, April 23, Shuvinai Ashoona, RCA, was awarded a Special Mention during the opening ceremony of the 59th International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia. This is Ashoona’s debut in the Venice Biennale, with her work being included in the central exhibition The Milk of Dreams curated by Cecelia Alemani, on view until November 27. The Venice Biennale is the longest-running and most prestigious contemporary art event in the world, awarding prizes to artists participating in the International Exhibition since 1895". The story continues at this news link ...
Work by Shuvinai Ashoona at Postma: Limited Edition prints and drawings (are offline, and upon request).
KENNEDY GALLERY, NORTH BAY, ONTARIO | FIRST SIGN OF SPRING
Exhibition Dates: 16 April to 3 June 2022
Venue: Kennedy Gallery, North Bay, Ontario, Canada
Details: First Sign of Spring: Inuit Prints from the Collections 1959-1970
NATIONAL ETHNOGRAPHIC MUSEUM, WARSAW, POLAND | NEW INUIT ART
Exhibition Dates: 15 March to 29 May 2022
Venue: The National Ethnographic Museum, Warsaw, Poland
“We invite you to the temporary exhibition “New Inuit Art. Współczesna sztuka Inuitów z Kinngait” prepared by the West Baffin Eskimo Cooperative in Canada and the Culture and Heritage Foundation. The partner of the exhibition is the Canadian Embassy”. The exhibition will be open from 15th of March till 29th of May.
Artists / Artwork Featured in this Exhibition: Saimaiyu Akesuk, Ningeosiaq Ashoona, Shuvinai Ashoona, Kellipalik Kudlu, Qavavau Manumie, Johnny Pootoogook, Palaya Qiatsuq, Pitseolak Qimirpik, Ooloosie Saila, Toonoo Sharky.
Please view the Museum's website for further information about this exhibit.
“This exhibition is a cross-section of approaches and generations, providing us with a dynamic snapshot of what’s happening in contemporary Inuit art”.
“Presented in the context of the National Ethnographic Museum in Warsaw, this exhibition resonates with the unexpected; traditional subject matter presented in highly unusual ways or imagery that entirely departs from what we associate as Inuit. Creatures born of pure fantasy, places that are as familiar as they are completely foreign, typical activities like hunting are counterpointed by the unexplained; all coexist in the exhibition and serve to illustrate a multiplicity within the Inuit art milieu”.
THE ROOMS | HELPING HANDS: 30 YEARS AT KINNGAIT STUDIOS
Exhibition Dates: 9 February to 5 June 2022
Venue: The Rooms (St. John's, Newfoundland), Canada
Guest Curator: Nakasuk Alariaq.
Curatorial Advisors: Nancy Campbell, Mireille Eagan.
Featuring works from a major donation from William B. Ritchie.
View The Rooms webpage for official details regarding this exhibition.
CBC Newfoundland and Labrador hosted a live event with N. Alariaq about this exhbition.
To view, visit the CBC Facebook video page.
VENICE, ITALY | SHUVINAI ASHOONA at La Biennale di Venezia 2022
Exhibition News from the Co-Op today. Shuvinai invited to exhibit at the Biennale (Venice).
Exhibition Dates: 23 April to 27 November 2022
Venue: 59th International Art Exhibition Central Pavilion Giardini della Biennale Venice, Italy
Curator: Cecilia Alemani
"...Kinngait (Cape Dorset) Inuk artist Shuvinai Ashoona to the 59th International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia curated by Cecilia Alemani. Announced at a virtual event earlier today, Ashoona will contribute a selection of works, with some created in 2021. Ashoona’s work is as preoccupied by aspects of Inuit cultural, daily activities in her home community and the vast Arctic landscape as it is with the influences of film or television and the potential of pure imagination. Conventional imagery and the recognizable, is often commingled with nightmarish creatures and depictions of other-worldly places, all as brightly rendered and complex drawings. Taking place 23 April to 27 November 2022 in Venice, Italy, Biennale Arte is one of the world's largest and most prestigious international art exhibitions. Ashoona is the second Kinngait artist to participate in the curated component of this significant visual art showcase; in 2017, fellow Inuk artist Kananginak Pootoogook was represented posthumously by 10 drawings in the Arsenale venue of La Biennale. This exciting Biennale Arte 2022 edition will enhance the global profile of Kinngait artists and reinforce the role of Inuit art on the international stage".
"The 59th International Art Exhibition 'The Milk of Dreams', a name borrowed from a book by Leonora Carrington, in which, the Surrealist artist describes a magical world where life is constantly re-envisioned through the prism of the imagination, and where everyone can change, be transformed, become something and someone else. The exhibition takes us on an imaginary journey through metamorphoses of the body and definitions of humanity".
"La Biennale di Venezia was established in 1895 and is today acknowledged as one of the most prestigious cultural institutions. La Biennale di Venezia stands at the forefront of research and promotion of new contemporary art trends, and organizes events in all its specific sectors: Visual Arts (1895), Architecture (1980), Cinema (1932), Dance (1999), Music (1930), and Theatre (1934) alongside research and training activities".
"Shuvinai Ashoona (born 1961, Kinngait, Nunavut, Canada) lives and works in Kinngait. Ashoona first came to prominence in the late 1990s, when her work was included in the 1997 Cape Dorset Annual Print Collection. Recent solo presentations of Ashoona’s work include Beyond the Visible at Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto (2021), Holding on to Universes at Centre for Contemporary Arts Glasgow (2020) and Mapping Worlds, organized by The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery in Toronto (2019), which toured venues across Canada. Other solo exhibitions include Nunatta Sunakkutaangit Museum, Iqaluit (2013), MacKenzie Art Gallery, Regina (2012), Carleton University Art Gallery, Ottawa (2009) and Art Gallery of Alberta, Edmonton (2006). She has been included in major group exhibitions including National Ethnographic Museum, Warsaw (2022), Esker Foundation, Calgary (2017), Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto (2017), Mercer Union, Toronto (2016), National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa (2014), SITE Santa Fe (2014), 18th Biennale of Sydney (2012) and Massachusetts MoCA, North Adam (2012). Her work resides in a number of public collections including the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Winnipeg Art Gallery, Canadian Museum of History, Ottawa/Gatineau, Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and National Museum of the American Indian, Washington. In 2018, Ashoona was recipient of the prestigious Gershon Iskowitz Prize". Cr.WBEC1
Available work at Postma Fine Art by Shuvinai Ashoona.
ART GALLERY OF SUDBURY | 'First Sign of Spring: Inuit Prints from the Collections 1959-1970'
Exhibition Dates: March 16, 2022 to April 30, 2022
Venue: Art Gallery of Sudbury (Sudbury, Ontario, Canada)
Description: "First Sign of Spring features 60 prints by 27 inuit artists including Kenojuak Ashevak, Pitseolak Ashoona, Lucy Qinnuayuak, Kananginak Pootoogook, and Helen Kalvak. Scenes of daily life from Kinngait (Cape Dorset) and Ulukhaqtuuq (Holman Island), as well as representations of spirits, dreams, and images of transformation are depicted".
Available Work at Postma Fine Art by Kenojuak Ashevak, Pitseolak Ashoona, Lucy Qinnuayuak,
KELOWNA, B.C. | 'A STORY IN THREE PARTS: ASHEVAK, POOTOOGOOK, ISUMA
Exhibition Dates: December 4, 2021 to May 8, 2022
Venue: Kelowna Art Gallery (British Columbia, Canada)
Multimedia: With Video .
Description: "...tour of the Kelowna Art Gallery’s current exhibition A Story in Three Parts: Ashevak, Pootoogook, Isuma. Find out more about these three distinct but connected narratives which explore the past and present of Inuit creative expression".
Available Work at Postma Fine Art by Kenojuak Ashevak and Sharni Pootoogook
OTTAWA, ONTARIO, CANADA | Senate of Canada Building
Exhibition Dates: 2021 to 2022
Venue: Senate of Canada Building, Room B-30(Ottawa, Ontario, Canada)
Select works by Inuit artists are featured on the wall of committee room B-30 in the Senate of Canada Building.
"A collection of prints by renowned Inuit artists will call the Senate of Canada Building home for the next year as part of a new program to showcase Canadian galleries and museums. Works depicting various aspects of Northern life — from hunting and nature to family life and spirituality — are now the backdrop for Senators’ work in committee room B-30".
"The gallery’s curator of Inuit art Darlene Coward Wight hopes the installation will increase Canadians’ knowledge of Inuit and their culture. “Works from past and present Inuit artists will hopefully open viewers up to the stories of Inuit,” said Ms. Coward Wight. “I can only hope that this will contribute to tolerance and empathy in our very complex world.”
"Introduced to the North in the 1950s, printmaking first took root in the community of Kinngait (Cape Dorset), Nunavut. It became an art form synonymous with Inuit artists, who were often recognized on the international stage. Kenojuak Ashevak and Pitaloosie Saila, both featured in the Senate’s exhibit, were among the printmakers of Kinngait. Over the decades, the art form expanded across the North to communities like Puvirnituq, Ulukhaktok (Holman), Baker Lake and Pangnirtung ― where Andrew Qappik, who designed the Nunavut flag, became well known. Each major printmaking community is represented in the collection on display at the Senate of Canada Building".
Available work at Postma Fine Art by Kenojuak Ashevak and Pitaloosie Saila.
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA | 'PRINTED TEXTILES FROM KINNGAIT STUDIOS'
Exhibition Dates: December 7, 2021 to January 29, 2022
Venue: Textile Museum of Canada (Toronto, Ontario, Canada)
Multimedia: With Video.
Description: 'Printed Textiles from Kinngait Studios' presents the little-known story of a group of Inuit artists and printmakers who produced a collection of graphic textiles in Kinngait, (Cape Dorset, Nunavut) in the 1950s and 60s – a period of social change that disrupted traditional language and relationships to the land'.
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA | 'GREATER TORONTO ART, 2021'
Exhibition Dates: September 29, 2021 to January 9, 2022
Venue: Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Multimedia: Presentation.
Description: "A new art exhibit in Toronto features a collaborative work by Ashoona Ashoona of Kinngait, the grandson of world-renowned artist Pitseolak Ashoona.
Among her grandchildren - the late artist Annie Pootoogook.
Related: View Full Article from Nov. 9, 2021, Nunatsiaq News.
(See the wood cut image of Pitseolak Ashoona in the news article).
Available work at Postma Fine Art by Annie Pootoogook and Pitseolak Ashoona.
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA | 'SHUVINAI ASHOONA: BEYOND THE VISIBLE'
Exhibition Dates: July 21, 2021 to January 2, 2022
Venue: Art Gallery of Toronto (AGO, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Multimedia: Webpage AGO
Description: "Shuvinai Ashoona: Beyond the Visible is an exhibition of 25 primarily new works on paper by world-renowned Inuk artist, Shuvinai Ashoona. Ashoona is the descendant of a deep artistic legacy through her grandmother Pitseolak, a widely revered illustrator. Ashoona’s work is characterized by a confident sense of colour, a sure hand, and a unique vision. She and her cousin Annie Pootoogook were among the first to take Inuit art to the international stage". Cr.A1
Available work at Postma Fine Art by Shuvinai Ashoona.
CALGARY, ALBERTA, CANADA | 'MAPPING WORLDS'
Exhibition Dates: February 1, 2021 to August 29, 2021
Venue: Glenbow Museum, Calgary, Alberta
Multimedia: Webpage Glenbow
Description: 'Mapping Worlds' features pencil crayon and ink drawings produced by Shuvinai Ashoona over the past two decades. Many of Ashoona’s early drawings depict scenes of Kinngait (formerly known as Cape Dorset), Nunavut, continuing an artistic tradition begun by the Ashoona family, including her grandmother Pitseolak Ashoona (1904-1983) and cousin Annie Pootoogook (1969-2016).
Related: VIDEO: In this conversation, Curator Dr. Nancy Campbell gives us an introduction to Shuvinai Ashoona’s life and work.
Available work at Postma Fine Art by Shuvinai Ashoona.
RIOPELLE: CALL OF NORTHERN LANDSCAPES AND INDIGENOUS CULTURES
"The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) launch a major exhibition dedicated to Jean Paul Riopelle (1923-2002), a towering figure in Canadian, Québec and international modern art. Based on original research, the exhibition explore, the artist's interest in the North and Indigenous cultures, with nearly 175 works and more than 200 artefacts and archival documents. It shed new light on the artist's work during the 1950s and 1970s by retracing the travels and influences that fed his fascination with northern regions and North American Indigenous communities".CRmm1
UPDATED, NOTE RIOPELLE EXHIBITION : VIEW AT THE AUDAIN MUSEUM IN WHISTLER, BRITISH COLUMBIA.
OCTOBER 23, 2021 - FEB 21, 2022.
Related, Exhibition Book at Indigo Books
Available work at Postma Fine Art by Jean-Paul Riopelle.
Articles Seen In The News About Kinngait Art & Artists
'INUIT ART IS CONSIDERED GREAT CANADIAN ART'
“Inuit art is now considered great Canadian art as well as Inuit art”
Nunatsiaq News, September 21, 2020
THE NORTHERN LIGHTS
'Those are our ancestors in the sky:' Sacred beliefs about the Northern Lights
CTV NEWS Calgary, November 10, 2021
OTTAWA, ONTARIO | ANNIE POOTOOGOOK PARK
CBC NEWS, November 7, 2021
Link to news article and video highlights (including comments from Canada's first Inuk Governor General, Mary May Simon), Ottawa park naming ceremony (after late Kinngait Artist):
'Annie Pootoogook Park sits beside Sandy Hill Community Centre, near University of Ottawa'
BRITISH MUSEUM ACQUIRES KENOJUAK LITHOGRAPH
KENOJUAK ASHEVAK CREATIVE LEGACY FINDS A PERMANENT HOME AT THE BRITISH MUSEUM
"British Museum (London, U.K.) ... recent acquisition of a significant lithograph by legendary Canadian Inuit artist Kenojuak Ashevak (1927–2013). Entitled 'Nunavut Qajanartuk' (Our Beautiful Land), this hand-coloured diptych was commissioned by then Indian Affairs and Northern Development (now two departments: Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada, and Indigenous Services Canada) to commemorate the signing of the April 1990 Inuit Land Claims Agreement in Principle. That Agreement led to the creation of Canada’s newest territory, Nunavut, which became an independent Inuit-run government in 1999". Cr.W1
"The lithograph was produced in a very limited edition of four, with editions residing in the collections of the Government of Nunavut, Indian Affairs and Northern Development, Canadian Museum of Civilisation and a fourth with the Ashevak family... (it was) agreed to make an archive version of the print available to the British Museum for the exhibition and later also agreed to allow the museum to acquire the lithograph". Cr.W2
"Language and creativity are at the heart of Indigenous culture in Canada, and part of our national identity. This extraordinary work is a testament to the resilience, independence and self expression of Inuit communities. Its acquisition by The British Museum reminds us of its historical significance, as well as the world class talent of Indigenous artists in Canada”, said Ralph Goodale, High Commissioner for Canada in the United Kingdom". CrW3
VENICE BIENNALE | KANANGINAK POOTOOGOOK
Kananginak Pootoogook, RCA (1935–2010) "has been named as a participating artist in this years Venice Biennale, opening May 13, 2017. The late Kinngait (Cape Dorset) artist, known for his distinct figurative style and often humorous approach in both his graphic and sculptural works, is the first Inuit artist to be included in the fair". CR.I1
KENOJUAK'S 'OWL'S BOUQUET' ON $10. BILL
'2017, the Bank of Canada unveiled a commemorative $10 banknote in honour of Canada's 150th birthday; Kenojuak Ashevak's print Owl's Bouquet is featured on the note'. CRw1
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64th Annual Collection Preview
The 64th Annual Kinngait (Cape Dorset) Autumn Collection
(34 new works by 20 Artists) is now available for
pre-release reservations (opening date is October 21, 2023).
Complimentary shipping to most destinations (Canada/USA), and complimentary 2024 Kinngait wall calendar
(for all confirmed pre-release reservations/acquisitions -
only until October 20th).