Exhibit celebrating renowned Inuit artist opens in Winnipeg

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Kenojuak Ashevak "First Snowfall"

Kenojuak Ashevak "First Snowfall"

WINNIPEG, Man. (May 1, 2012) –

It is an enduring cliché – the long-suffering artist, plagued by dark thoughts and even dimmer prospects of success.

But based on the five-decade career of Inuit artist Kenojuak Ashevak, in which she generated hundreds of bright, captivating images and garnered national and international recognition, it’s clear the artistic stereotype doesn’t apply to everyone.

“She has been quoted that her work is done through her imagination. Her imagination must be a very happy place,” said John Westren, showroom manager for Dorset Fine Arts in Toronto, the marketing division of the West Baffin Eskimo Cooperative art studio in Cape Dorset, Nunavut. “She’s such a lovely lady. She’s the quintessential grandmother.”

In recognition of her half-century career, during which her art has appeared on three Canadian stamps and on a 1999 Millennium quarter, the Nunavut Gallery in Winnipeg is presenting an exhibit: Kenojuak Ashevak, Celebrating 50 Years, opening May 3 and running to June 30.

The show features 80 pieces by Kenojuak, as she is known, with 45 prints and 33 drawings done between 1963 and 2012.

Now 84, Kenojuak is a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts, a Companion of the Order of Canada and her iconic prints are some of the most familiar images in Canadian art.

“She’s become somewhat of a national treasure. If anyone was to pick one artist to represent Canadian Inuit culture it would be Kenojuak,” said Westren.

Despite her age and diminishing eyesight, because of macular degeneration, Kenojuak is still producing images of owls, loons and animals at an amazing rate from her home in Cape Dorset, a community known as the capital of Inuit art.

“She has a tremendous work ethic,” said Westren, adding Kenojuak does most of her drawings, these days, in a house filled with grandchildren.

Jimmy Manning, who lives in Dorset and marketed Inuit prints and carvings for decades, said Kenojuak is the only octogenarian regularly creating art in the community.

“She is a good role model,” said Manning, who has known Kenojuak for 50 years. “Going back to the early days, now seeing her day at age 84, still continuing, I think she is a very strong Canadian Inuk.”

Kenojuak Ashevak facts:

• 1959, became the first Inuit women to have a drawing made into a print
• 1974, elected to the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts
• 2001, inducted into Canada’s Walk of Fame
• 2008, received Governor General’s Award for Visual & Media arts