I knew when I first interviewed Arnaqu Ashevak in 1998 that he was very different from any of his fellow Kinngait artists. During the interview, he mentioned that two of his favourite artists were from Europe – Alexander Calder and M.C. Escher. He went on to say, “sometimes I look at art magazines, and get inspiration from that. Lot of … Read More
The Old Ways: A Conversation Between Father and Son
Kananginak Pootoogook (1935-2010) was in the vanguard of artists who introduced the medium of printmaking to Kinngait. In addition to taking part in the early experimentation, he became a master printer and garnered an international following for his sculptures and graphic works. His youngest son, Johnny Pootogook would be the only one of his children to become an artist. Born … Read More
Shuvinai Ashoona: My Curious People
In this new body of work by Shuvinai Ashoona, the artist revisits a number of unique subjects for which her work is most admired: surrealist creatures, globes, and anthropomorphic animals, to name a few. Yet most noticeably, the human subject dominates—it’s one that Ashoona has played with throughout the majority of her 30+ year-long career. Imbued with her usual extraordinary … Read More
Six Decades of Drawing
For more than three decades, Feheley Fine Arts has presented rare, early drawings by Inuit artists, including many early Kinngait works dating from 1959-1969, drawings that continue to be sought after by collectors. The West Baffin Eskimo Co-operative still owns the lion’s share of these early drawings – some 90,000 are now housed at the McMichael Canadian Art Collection and … Read More
Itee Poogoook: Stills
Drawings by Itee Pootoogook (1951–2014), an acclaimed artist from Kinngait, are easily recognized. His meticulous renderings of his world – the land, the buildings, the many figures and scenes that shaped his community are unique; subtly coloured and almost dream-like in their serenity. They have been exhibited and published widely, often found in major public and private collections. This group … Read More
Shuvinai Ashoona & John Noestheden Collaboration
In the winter of 2008, Shuvinai Ashoona was invited by curator Wayne Baerwaldt to Calgary’s Illingworth Kerr Gallery, at the Alberta College of Art and Design. Through Feheley Fine Arts, she had been commissioned to collaborate with Canadian crystal artist John Noestheden on an original drawing for a banner spanning an entire city block. This collaboration stemmed from Baerwaldt’s vision … Read More
The Private Series: Widding Collection
On display in the Ithaca home of Mary and Fred Widding lay a remarkable array of Inuit sculptures. Now, transitioning from the intimate settings of their home to Feheley Fine Arts, this exceptional collection not only showcases a diverse spectrum of styles, materials, and narratives, but also embodies a profound reverence for carvings from the North. Mary Widding notes that … Read More
Inuit Community Name Changes
How we refer to placenames in Inuit Nunangat (homelands of the Inuit) has changed over the course of time. You might wonder why some community names seem to have recently changed and why. And who decided on their non-Inuit names in the first place? Europeans in Inuit Nunangat In the late-1500s, English seaman Martin Frobisher sailed west across the … Read More
Shuvinai Ashoona Receives Governor General’s Award
We are thrilled to share the news of Shuvinai Ashoona being honoured with the Governor General’s Awards in Visual Arts, a testament to her remarkable impact on Canadian art. Shuvinai’s unique talent for blending vivid storytelling with elements of fantasy, realism, and nostalgia have rightfully earned her this esteemed recognition, the highest honour for visual and media arts in Canada. … Read More
Contemporary Land: The Birth of Contemporary Drawing in the North
Contemporary Drawing in Kinngait, 1995–2015 Drawing holds a long history at the Kinngait Studios. For many artists it served as their introduction to artmaking, as graphite pencil and paper were among the first media available to in the late 1950s and early 1960s. While drawings were purchased by the co-op, they were seldom marketed for sale and prints dominated the … Read More
“Kenojuak Ashevak: To Make Something Beautiful” Collector’s talk
Inuit artist Kenojuak Ashevak, over her lifetime, became a national and international art star; Companion of the Order of Canada, and the holder of two honorary degrees, as well as the subject of several books and films. She was born in a camp near Kinngait in 1927. The exhibition, Kenojuak Ashevak: To Make Something Beautiful features incredibly rare and coveted … Read More
Kenojuak Ashevak: To Make Something Beautiful
(Digitized catalogue below) “For my subject matter I don’t start off and pick a subject as such; that’s not my way of addressing a drawing. My way of doing it is to start without a preconceived plan of exactly what I am going to execute in full, and so I come up with a small part of it which is … Read More