ARNAQU ASHEVAK (1956-2009) KINNGAIT (CAPE DORSET
Ivik (Grass Basket), 2004 #1
Printmaker: NIVIAKSIE QUVIANAQTULIAQ (1970-) KINNGAIT (CAPE DORSET)
lithograph, 35 x 16 in (88.9 x 40.6 cm)
43/50

ESTIMATE: $1,500 — $2,500

Provenance
Collection of John and Joyce Price, Seattle.

As an occasional contributor to Cape Dorset print collections, the brilliantly talented sculptor and graphic artist Arnaqu Ashevak (the adopted son of Kenojuak and Johnniebo) ensured that his offerings had impact every time. With Ivik (Grass Basket), the subject is inspired by a basket made by an artist he met during his Banff Centre residency in 1991. Arnaqu’s image is beautifully translated into a lithograph filling a tall sheet of paper, given the more room to show off the woven texture of the grass and the wonderful three-dimensionality of the object. The black steps of the cross-hatched pattern gently swoop around the basket with just the right amount of unevenness that can be seen in something made by hand or a natural material. The addition of the bird and the dark shadow lends a monumentality to the basket, giving the image an air of surreality that reminds us of the works of the Italian painter Giorgio de Chirico.