“We have the right to hunt. We have the right to use renewable resources to feed our families. We have the right to survive.” – Tanya Tagaq [1] Seal hunting has been an important part of Inuit lifeways for centuries. A deeply rooted cultural practice, it provides an essential source of country food for communities in the North, and has … Read More
Graphite: Early Drawings from Kinngait
Thirty years ago, almost to the day, the seminal exhibition Strange Scenes: Early Cape Dorset Drawings opened at the McMichael Canadian Art Collection in Kleinburg, Ontario. Curated by Susan Gustavison and Jean Blodgett, the show marked the first public exhibition that placed a focus on the early graphite drawings of the late-1950s and early-1960s. Blodgett explained that the “strange scenes” … Read More
Feheley at Outsider Art Fair in New York
Feheley Fine Arts is proud to announce our participation in the Outsider Art Fair in New York City (March 2 – 5, 2023). The Outsider Art Fair has appeared annually in both New York City and Paris since 1993, exhibiting galleries that show artists not formally trained or who are practicing their art outside of convention. The Outsider Art movement … Read More
Johnny Pootoogook: Nocturne
Amid the quiet darkness of evening or night, light finds its way through. It illuminates the green exterior wall of the Peter Pitseolak High School, and glows through the windows of buildings near the Water Point Area. It also naturally occurs in the aurora borealis as a green or blue glow dancing across the sky. These subtle instances of luminescence … Read More
Quvianaqtuk Pudlat: Monumental
(Digitized catalogue below) Out from Quvianaqtuk Pudlat’s drawings, knowledge emerges. Pudlat, a hunter, is an expert of the land and it’s animals. His intimate wildlife knowledge manifests thoughtfully in his large-scale depictions of the creatures of the North. The nuances, each revealing integral information about animal habits and behaviour, can be easily missed by the untrained eye and reveal facts … Read More
Themes in Inuit Art: Migration
The theme of migratory camp life, when hunters and their families would follow the animals with the seasons, comprises many images in Inuit art. Migratory and semi-migratory hunting camps were a way of life for Inuit living in the Canadian Arctic up until the mid-twentieth century when many began to move into permanent settlement communities. Today, camping during the spring, … Read More
Elisapee Ishulutaq: Prints & Drawings
This exhibition presents a selection of primarily prints and two oil stick drawings by Elisapee Ishulutaq (1925–2018), one of Pangnirtung’s most celebrated artists and respected cultural leaders. Known for her narrative-driven images, Ishulutaq’s work reflects the northern experience she knew. Her pieces in this show celebrate the seasonal hunting camp lifestyle that the artist lived in for the first half … Read More
Quvianaqtuk Pudlat: Experimentals
Deviating from his coloured pencil and ink drawings, this special presentation of a new series by Quvianaqtuk Pudlat features, for the first time, brush drawings completed in ink. Through this new medium, Pudlat transforms his usually naturalistic and meticulously drawn images of Arctic wildlife into abstract and expressive compositions. His black ink images are set boldly against iridescent backgrounds of … Read More
Twelve by Twelve
We are pleased to present the group exhibition Twelve by Twelve, featuring 12 stellar works by 12 great Inuit artists. Expertly selected by Pat Feheley herself, these works represent the breadth and diversity in style and subject presented by artists from the Canadian North. Artists in the show come primarily from Kinngait, Nunavut, with the exception of Niap who was … Read More
Ooloosie Saila: Surging Skies
Feheley Fine Arts is pleased to present an exhibition of recent drawings by Kinngait artist Ooloosie Saila, the artist’s second solo show at the gallery. Completed between late-2019 and 2021, this body of work builds on the subjects of Saila’s earlier drawings, taking them to new levels of form, colour, and detail. Vibrantly coloured and dynamically composed, Saila’s drawings visualize … Read More
Themes in Inuit Art: Sedna
Often depicted as a mermaid-like being, the mythical sea spirit Sedna figures frequently in Inuit art. Across the Arctic exist a great number of different names for the legendary figure, including Taleelayo (“the one down on the sea bottom”) and Nuliajuk (“mother of all the beasts”). Her appearance in legends and mythology reflect the fact that for thousands of years, … Read More
Thin Ice: Drawings by Qavavau Manumie
Thin Ice, a solo exhibition of primarily new drawings by Qavavau Manumie, explores contemporary issues of climate change in the Arctic. Based in Kinngait, Nunavut, Manumie is a long-time observer of environmental shifts in his home community and how it increasingly affects the land, animals, and people of the circumpolar north. In keeping with his signature playful and illustrative drawing … Read More