Kenojuak Ashevak
OWL WITH TWO BIRDS
2003-04, Pencil Crayon &
Ink & Pencil, 20 x 26"

Arnaqu Ashevak
FLOWER
2003, Stone & Antler,
12 x 6.5 x 6.5"

KENOJUAK AND ONWARD
November 6 - 23, 2004

Opening reception: Sat. Nov. 6th
The artists will be in attendance from 3-5pm
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Generations Series
Does artistic talent run in the blood, or is it culturally or socially determined? Why are there so many artists in a relatively small community such as Cape Dorset? Are there connecting threads between related artists of different generations? These issues and more are explored in this series.

Kenojuak & Onward
There is no more famous Inuit artist than Kenojuak Ashevak, the grand dame of Inuit graphics since the first Cape Dorset print release over forty years ago. Kenojuak has devoted more than half her life to art-making, and her fame now extends around the globe. She is a prolific and dedicated contemporary Canadian artist and an international ambassador for Inuit art.

Not surprisingly, there is an artistic 'next generation' on the rise in the Ashevak family. Two of Kenojuak's sons, Adamie and Arnaqu, make their living as artists - each with a unique style and distinctive personality. Kenojuak, Adamie and Arnaqu are all aware of the others' work, but each follows a separate vision. "I have watched my mother and my brother," says Adamie. "Our arts are quite different - the way we work."

Kenojuak is glad to see the next generation making a living as artists as she has. "I think it is important for them to be able to create with their hands," she says. "It is very important that they find what they can do in terms of art." The traditional and the modern intersect in the works of these two generations of artists from the Ashevak family. Together, they embody the iconic and the innovative in Inuit art today and point onward to the future of the art form.

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