Indigenous and Inuit Works on Paper: Group Exhibition

A collection of Indigenous artistic leaders in Canada will display from April 21^st to May 6^th, 2022 at the Petley Jones Gallery.  The exhibition features Indigenous and Inuit works on paper from some of the most sought-after artists; Alex Janvier, Bill Reid, Kenojuak Ashevak, Gwaai Edenshaw, Pudlo Pudlat, and more.

Kenojuak Ashevak

Kenojuak Ashevak (1927 – 2013) is one of Canada’s most acclaimed visual artists. Ashevak became arguably the most renowned Inuit artist in the world since her prints gained recognition in the 1960s. Her work is defined by clean, stylized motifs and ciphers of Inuit life and mythology. Ashevak’s art changed Canadian culture, expanding the population’s awareness of Inuit art through reproductions on currency, postage stamps, and exhibitions in national museums and galleries.

 “I am not trying to show what anything looks like in the material world. I am just concentrating on placing it down on paper in a way that is pleasing to my own eye whether it has anything to do with subjective reality or not.”

– Kenojuak, from an interview with Jean Blodgett, 1980

Bill Reid

Bill Reid (1920-1998) was a master of detail, from intricate jewelry, to massive reconstructions of authentic nineteenth-century Haida villages at UBC. Reid infused Haida traditions with his own modern aesthetic as a goldsmith, carver, sculptor, writer, broadcaster, mentor and community activist.

Featured in this exhibition are several of Reid’s silkscreen prints on various media. An extremely sensitive artist’s hand, Reid formed the design of the silkscreen prints on sheets of nearly transparent cedar wood shavings which are a breathtaking poetic combination of his talents as a carver and printmaker.

Bill Reid mentored many indigenous artists, including contemporary Haida artist, carver and filmmaker, Gwaai Edenshaw. Haida artist and illustrator, Edenshaw also has a passion for story and language. His drawings almost become a freeze-frame within a long line of film that documents ancestral connections.

Alex Janvier

Alex Janvier, born 1935, stands as a contemporary icon, recognized by his bold colours and distinct curved lines. The aptly named solo exhibition, “Alex Janvier: Modern Indigenous Master,” was curated by the National Gallery of Canada in 2016 – 2018, announcing the artist’s position as a national icon.  Janvier is a member of the “Indian Group of Seven”, who distinguishes himself as a native modernist, whose unique style of abstraction is informed by the rich spiritual traditions and heritage of the Dene in northern Alberta.

Pudlo Pudlat

Pudlo Pudlat (1916–1992) was a talented artist born at Ilupirlik, a small camp on southern Baffin Island in Nunavut. Pudlat later joined the West Baffin Eskimo Cooperative in Cape Dorset, same as Ashevak. What makes Pudlat’s work exceptional is his subversion of our preconceptions of Northern life. His work depicted the realistic transition from nomadic Inuit lifestyles to contemporary technologies. Airplanes, helicopters and hydro lines all make their way into the arctic, and consequently into Pudlat’s work, for a story of cross-cultural interaction.

You can view Indigenous and Inuit works on paper from these preeminent Indigenous artists in the gallery from April 21^st to May 6^th, 2022.