Kananginak Pootoogook
Kananginak, RCA 1935 - 2010, has been involved with drawing and printmaking since the late 1950's when the West Baffin Co-operative first initiated the graphic arts program at Cape Dorset. Kananginak's first print, a collaborative image with his father, Pootoogook, was included in the first catalogued collection of Cape Dorset prints in 1959. Since that time, Kananginak’s work has been included in almost every annual collection, and has been interpreted in many different print media - copper engraving, stonecut, stencil, lithography and etching. Kananginak was an accomplished stonecut printmaker himself - in the early years he often proofed and editioned his own work.
Kananginak and his siblings grew up in different camp areas on south Baffin Island. Their main camp was Ikirisaq where their father, Pootoogook, was the respected camp leader. Kananginak married Shooyoo from Cape Dorset in the mid-1950's. They lived at Ikirisaq until 1958 when they moved to Cape Dorset because of Pootoogook's failing health.
Kananginak has been a prominent community leader. He was instrumental in the formation of the West Baffin Eskimo Co-operative, and served for many years as President of its Board of Directors. He is also a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of the Arts.
In 1978, the World Wildlife Commission released a limited edition portfolio of works in which four of Kananginaks' images were included. His work has been featured in numerous exhibitions, in both public institutions and commercial galleries. He is also a notable sculptor.
In 1997, Kananginak was commissioned by the Governor General of Canada, Romeo Leblanc, to construct an inuksuq in Cape Dorset, which was then dismantled and shipped to Ottawa. Kananginak and his son Johnny were then invited to Ottawa to re-assemble the inuksuq on the grounds of Rideau Hall as part of a tribute to Native people in Canada.
From the beginning, Kananginak has represented Arctic wildlife in his work, often monumental in scale. He is especially capable at drawing the many species of birds that frequent the Arctic. He has also done many memorable images illustrating the material culture of the Inuit, and narrative drawings of camp and hunting scenes. This year Kananginak is well represented by five images that demonstrate his broad range as a graphic artist. The majestic Owl on Sealskin (2009-2) is monumental both in size and execution, and represents Kananginak at his most original. Dorset at Twilight (2009-3) and Pootoogook Returns (2009-4) are beautiful, small lithographs representing Kananginak's obvious affection for his family, his community and it's unique history.
Born on January 1, 1935 in Ikerrasak Camp. Died on November 24, 2010. Nationality is Inuit
Exhibitions
2018 Cape Dorset Spring Graphics Release
2011 Cape Dorset Spring Folio Print Release
2011 Cape Dorset Graphics Collection, Dorset Fine Arts, Toronto, ON
2010 Cape Dorset Print Collection, Dorset Fine Arts, Toronto, ON
2009 Cape Dorset Print Collection, Dorset Fine Arts, Toronto, ON
2008 Cape Dorset Print Collection, Dorset Fine Arts, Toronto, ON
2007 Cape Dorset Print Collection, Dorset Fine Arts, Toronto, ON
2006 Cape Dorset Print Collection, Dorset Fine Arts, Toronto, ON
2005 Cape Dorset Print Collection, Dorset Fine Arts, Toronto, ON
2004 Cape Dorset Print Collection, Dorset Fine Arts, Toronto, ON
2003 Then and Now, Inuit Gallery of Vancouver, Vancouver, BC
2002 Cape Dorset Graphics, Arctic Artistry, Hastings-on-Hudson, NY
2002 Cape Dorset Legends, The Guild Shop, Toronto, ON
2002 Cape Dorset Print Collection 02, Dorset Fine Arts, Toronto, ON
2001 Cross-Currents, Feheley Fine Arts, Toronto, ON
2001 Living Arctic, Inuit Gallery of Vancouver, Vancouver, BC
2000 Small Sculptures by Great Artists 2000, Feheley Fine Arts, Toronto, ON
2000 Cape Dorset Print Collection, West Baffin Eskimo Co-op, Cape Dorset, NU
2000 Arctic Spirit, Boise State University, Boise, ID
2000 A Different Nature, Feheley Fine Arts, Toronto, ON
1999 Drawings by Kananginak Pootoogook, Issacs/inuit Gallery, Toronto, ON
1999 Kananginak Pootoogook: Drawings, Albers Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1999 Horizons, Inuit Gallery of Vancouver, Vancouver, BC
1998 Fishing, Hunting & Wildlife, River Gallery, Fergus, ON
1997 Graphite & Stone, Spirit Wrestler, Vancouver, BC
1997 Stone & Bone, Sun Valley Centre for the Arts and Humanities, Ketchum, ID
1997 itinraire inuit, UNESCO Headquarters, Paris, France
1997 Inuit Prints and Drawings, Canadian Guild of Crafts, Montreal, QC
1997 Wolves & Caribou, Albers Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1997 Singing & Dancing & Playing, Feheley Fine Arts, Toronto, ON
1996 Emerging Spirit, The Banff Centre, Banff, AB
1996 Elagiiqniq/Family, MacDonald Stewart Art Centre, Guelph, ON
1995 Immaginario Inuit, Galerie d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea, Verona, Italy
1995 The Birds of Cape Dorset, Albers Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1995 Exhibition of Inuit Art, Harbourfront Centre, Toronto, ON
1995 Cape Dorset Engravings and Etchings, Arctic Artistry, Hastings-on-Hudson, NY
1995 Sedna: Spirit of the Sea, Feheley Fine Arts, Toronto, ON
1995 Sunakutagnuvalautut: Things from the Past, Feheley Fine Arts, Toronto, ON
1994 Cape Dorset Revisited, McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Kleinburg, ON
1994 Cape Dorset Revisited, West Baffin Eskimo Co-op, Cape Dorset, NU
1994 Share the Vision, Art Space Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
1994 Arctic Spirit, Frye Art Museum, Seattle, WA
1994 Kunst van de Inuit Eskimo's, Huis Hellemans, Edegem, Belgium
1994 Small Sculptures by Great Artists 3, Feheley Fine Arts, Toronto, ON
1993 The Treasured Monument, Marion Scott Gallery, Vancouver, BC
1993 Small Sculptures by Great Artists 2, Feheley Fine Arts, Toronto, ON
1993 Muskox-Umingmak, Houston North Gallery, Lunenburg, NS
1993 Contemporary Inuit Drawings, Muscaraelle Museum of Art, Williamsburg, VA
1993 Sculpture and Graphics from Cape Dorset, Art Space Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
1993 Drawings by Kananginak Pootoogook, Albers Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1992 Oonark, Pudlo, Kananginak, Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, MB
1992 Borealis, Freeport Art Museum and Cultural Centre, Freeport, IL
1992 Arctic Ice, Marion Scott Gallery, Vancouver, BC
1992 Each Depends on the Other, Houston North Gallery, Lunenburg, NS
1992 Inuit Print and Sculpture, Westdale Gallery, Hamilton, ON
1992 Inuit Art, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, ON
1992 Salon International Europ'art, Galerie Saint Merri, Geneva, Switzerland
1992 Small Sculptures by Great Artists 1, Feheley Fine Arts, Toronto, ON
1991 Art Inuit, Chapelle de la Visitation, Thonon, France
1991 Art Inuit, Le Colombier, Ville D'Avray, France
1991 Art Inuit, Galerie Ombre et Lumiere, Ensisheim, France
1991 Glaciopolis, Maison de Pesney, Les Arcs, France
1991 Cape Dorset Stone Sculpture, Inuit Gallery of Vancouver, Vancouver, BC
1991 Art Inuit, Galerie Akenaton, Troyes, France
1991 Inuit Sculpture, Muscarelle Museum of Art, Williamsburg, VA
1991 Inuit Music in Art, Feheley Fine Arts, Toronto, ON
1991 Art Inuit, Galerie la Tour des Cardinaux, L'Isle sur la Sorge, France
1991 Mother and Child, Albers Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1991 Sojourns to Nunavut, Bunkamura Art Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
1991 Moving Around the Form, Agnes Etherington Art Centre, Kingston, ON
1991 In Cape Dorset We Do It This Way, McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Kleinburg, ON
1991 Art Inuit, Le Theatre, la Ciotat, France
1990 Art Inuit, Palais de l'Europe, le Touquet, France
1990 Arctic Mirror, Canadian Museum of Civilization, Hull, QC
1990 Inuit Art from the Gelnbow Collection, Glenbow Museum, Calgary, AB
1990 Small Sculptures from the Canadian Arctic, Feheley Fine Arts, Toronto, ON
1990 Inuit Graphics and Drawings, Arctic Artistry, Hastings-on-Hudson, NY
1990 Inuit drawings, Inuit Gallery of Vancouver, Vancouver, BC
1990 Inuit Masterworks, Inuit Gallery of Vancouver, Vancouver, BC
1990 Art Inuit, Galerie Saint Merri, Paris, France
1990 Art Inuit, Maison Falleur, Cambrai, France
1990 Art Inuit, Thonon les Bains, France
1989 Inuit Graphic Art, Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, MB
1989 Cold Stones, Warm Hearts, University of Richmond, Richmond, VA
1989 Cape Dorset Printmaking, McMichael Canadian Collection, Kleinburg, ON
1989 A New Day Dawning, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
1989 Kananginak Pootoogook of Cape Dorset, Gallery Indigena, Stratford, ON
1989 Birds, The Guild Shop, Toronto, ON
1988 Exhibition of Original Drawings by Kananginak Pootoogook, The Guild Shop, Toronto, ON
1988 The World Around Me, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, AB
1988 Exhibition of Original Drawings by Three Inuit Artists, Gallery Phillips, Don Mills, ON
1988 Inuit Images in Transition, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA
1988 A Collectors Feast, Snow Goose Associates, Seattle, WA
1988 Works on Paper from the Permanent Collection, Canadian Guild of Crafts, Montreal, QC
1987 Cape Dorset Prints, Canadian Guild of Crafts, Montreal, QC
1987 Inuit Traditions in Graphics: 1961-1987, Arctic Artistry, Hartsdale, NY
1987 Inuit Graphics from the Past, Arctic Artistry, Scarsdale, NY
1987 Contemporary Inuit Drawings, MacDonald Stewart Art Centre, Guelph, ON
1987 Kananginak: Designs & Drawings, Canadian Guild of Crafts, Montreal, QC
1987 Drawings by Kananginak Pootoogook, Canadian Guild of Crafts, Montreal, QC
1987 1987 Eskimo Art, Franz Bader Gallery, Washington, DC
1986 Cape Dorset Prints and Sculpture, McMaster Art Gallery, Hamilton, ON
1986 Inuit Graphics through the Year, Arctic Artistry, Scarsdale, NY
1986 John and Mary Robertson Collection of Inuit Art, Agnes Etherington Art Centre, Kingston, ON
1986 Spirit of the Land, The Koffler Gallery, Toronto, ON
1986 Work by Kananginak, Eskimo Graphics, Kitchener, ON
1985 Alaska Eskimo Dolls, Council on the Arts, Edmonton, AB
1985 Uumajut: Animal Imagery in Inuit Art, Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, MB
1985 Chisel and Brush, Dept of Indian Affairs, Ottawa, ON
1985 Aboriginal Rights In Canada, National Library of Canada, Ottawa, ON
1985 Die Kunst aus der Arktis, Commerzbank, Frankfurt, Germany
1984 The Last and First Eskimos, Museum of Science and History, Fort Worth, TX
1984 Images of the Far North, Studio Art Gallery, Binghamton, NY
1984 On the Land, The Arctic Circle, Los Angeles, CA
1984 Cape Dorset Prints, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, ON
1984 Arctic Vision, Department of Indian Affairs, Ottawa, ON
1983 Fantasy and Stylization, Inuit Gallery of Vancouver, Vancouver, BC
1983 Return of the Birds, Inuit Gallery of Vancouver, Vancouver, BC
1983 Inuit Survival, Enook Galleries, Waterloo, ON
1983 Inuit Art at Rideau Hall, Rideau Hall, Ottawa, ON
1983 Contemporary Indian and Inuit Art of Canada, UN General Assembly Building, New York, NY
1983 Cape Dorset Prints, Rideau Hall, Ottawa, ON
1983 Grasp Tight the Old Ways, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, ON
1982 Noel au Chateau, Macdonald Stewart Art Centre, Guelph, ON
1981 Murray and Marguerite Vaughan Inuit Print Collection, Beaverbrook Art Gallery, Fredericton, NB
1981 Cape Dorset Engravings, Dept of Indian Affairs, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, ON
1981 The Year of the Bear, The Arctic Circle, Los Angeles, CA
1981 Festival of Birds, The Arctic Circle, Los Angeles, CA
1980 Cape Dorset, Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, MB
1980 Klamer Family Collection of Inuit Art, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON
1980 First Annual Collectors Invitational, Inuk 1/Eskimo Art, San Francisco, CA
1979 By Light of the Qulliq, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC
1979 Canadian Eskimo Art, Fine Arts Gallery, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT
1979 Eskimo Narrative, Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, MB
1979 Inuit Prints, University of New Brunswick, Long Gallery, St John, NB
1979 Images of the Inuit, Simon Fraser Gallery, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC
1979 Inuit Art in the 1970's, Agnes Etherington Art Centre, Kingston, ON
1978 Polar Vision, Jerusalem Artists' House Museum, Jerusalem, Israel
1978 Eskimo Art, Embankment Gallery, London, England
1978 From the University Collection, University of New Brunswick, Art Centre Gallery, Fredericton, NB
1977 Lithographs Dorset '77, The Arctic Circle, Los Angeles, CA
1977 The Inuit Print, Dept of Indian Affairs, Ottawa, ON
1977 Contemporary Eskimo Prints and Sculpture, Amon Carter Museum of Western Art, Fort Worth, TX
1976 Tribute to Cape Dorset Male Artists, Inukshuk Gallery, Waterloo, ON
1976 Cape Dorset Prints, London Art Gallery, Clinton, ON
1976 Pudlo Prints, Dept of Indian Affairs, Ottawa, ON
1975 Kananginak - Engravings, Robertson Galleries, Ottawa, ON
1975 Cape Dorset Collection, Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, MB
1975 We Lived by Animals, Dept of Indian Affairs, Ottawa, ON
1974 Ten Masterworks Exhibition Artists, Gallery of the Arctic, Victoria, BC
1974 Eskimo Art, Queens Museum, Flushing, New York, NY
1974 Crafts from Arctic Canada, Canadian Eskimo Arts Council, Ottawa, ON
1974 Ulu/Inua, Casino Gallery, Chicago, IL
1973 Les Eskimos, Studio 44, Brussels, Belgium
1971 Sculpture Inuit, Canadian Eskimo Arts Council, Ottawa, ON
1970 Canadian Eskimo Arts Festival, Alaska Methodist University Galleries, Anchorage, AK
1968 Eskimo Carvings, Waddington, Montreal, QC
1968 Eskimo Sculpture, Man & His World, Arctic Pavilion, Montreal, QC
1967 Inoonoot Eskima, Konstframjandet, Stockholm, Sweden
1967 Cape Dorset - A Decade of Eskimo Prints & Recent Sculpture, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, ON
1963 Art Eskimo, Galerie de France, Paris, France