Karoo Ashevak, ᑲᕈ ᐊᓴᕙ
SPIRIT, CA. 1973
Karoo Ashevak ᑲᔪ ᐊᓯᕙ (1940-1974), Taloyoak (Spence Bay)
SPIRIT, CA. 1973
whalebone, baleen, sinew
, signed in syllabics
17.75 x 14 x 10.5 in — 45.1 x 35.6 x 26.7 cm
Provenance:
Makler Gallery, Philadelphia, 1973
Private Collection, Ontario
Note:
One of the most distinctive talents in circumpolar art, Karoo Ashevak's small body of work has had an outsized impact for a career that only lasted five years. His untimely death in a fire at the age of 34 brought an abrupt end to a surge of creative output that continues to draw interest and admiration from both Canadian and international audiences.
Karoo was born and worked in the Canadian high north of Taloyoak (Spence Bay) developing a style that fused his unique vision of dreams, spirituality, and shamanism with his exceptional artistic talents and attention to surface and material. Karoo chose the material for his sculptures carefully. The artist benefited from a relative abundance of time-cured whalebone deposited on the land by 19th century whalers, and also in ancient middens and dwelling sites long pre-dating Europeans arrival in the Arctic.[1]
The present work undeniably ranks among Karoo’s great expressions, and is one of two masterworks purchased and sold by Makler Gallery of Philadelphia in 1973 (the other, Drummer sold at Waddington’s in December 2021).*
Makler, one of the great pioneering galleries of Philadelphia in the 20th century, represented artists including Alexander Calder, Milton Avery, Anselm Keifer, Jacques Lipchitz and the Cobra Group among others.[2] Notably of the two works by Karoo selected by Makler, both are cut from a point of intersection in the whalebone in which a distinctive pattern of scattershot channels in the bone emanate. The channels, which once carried the blood of the whale to its extremities have been located by Karoo in the head of Drummer, and in the left shoulder of Spirit. The feature brings a distinct directionality to the compositions, echoed in the asymmetry of the figures. In the present work, particularly the curvature of its horn, and its small arm carved in relief, all of which masterfully draw the eye outward to the imposing weight of the figure’s oversized right hand. As elsewhere in Karoo’s work, the porosity of the whalebone itself, is suggestive of the immaterial character of the shaman’s domain.[3]
*https://www.waddingtons.ca/auction/inuit-art-dec-09-2021/gallery/lot/152/
[1] Pamela Harris, Karoo Ashevak Spirits (New York: American Indian Arts Center, 1973), unpaged.
[2] Paul Makler et al., “Pioneering Art in the 1960s: Philadelphia”, Sloughtart, April 6 2005.
https://slought.org/resources/pioneering_art
[3] Jean Blodgett, Karoo Ashevak (Winnipeg: The Winnipeg Art Gallery, 1977), unpaged.
Estimate: $60,000—90,000
SPIRIT, CA. 1973
whalebone, baleen, sinew
, signed in syllabics
17.75 x 14 x 10.5 in — 45.1 x 35.6 x 26.7 cm
Provenance:
Makler Gallery, Philadelphia, 1973
Private Collection, Ontario
Note:
One of the most distinctive talents in circumpolar art, Karoo Ashevak's small body of work has had an outsized impact for a career that only lasted five years. His untimely death in a fire at the age of 34 brought an abrupt end to a surge of creative output that continues to draw interest and admiration from both Canadian and international audiences.
Karoo was born and worked in the Canadian high north of Taloyoak (Spence Bay) developing a style that fused his unique vision of dreams, spirituality, and shamanism with his exceptional artistic talents and attention to surface and material. Karoo chose the material for his sculptures carefully. The artist benefited from a relative abundance of time-cured whalebone deposited on the land by 19th century whalers, and also in ancient middens and dwelling sites long pre-dating Europeans arrival in the Arctic.[1]
The present work undeniably ranks among Karoo’s great expressions, and is one of two masterworks purchased and sold by Makler Gallery of Philadelphia in 1973 (the other, Drummer sold at Waddington’s in December 2021).*
Makler, one of the great pioneering galleries of Philadelphia in the 20th century, represented artists including Alexander Calder, Milton Avery, Anselm Keifer, Jacques Lipchitz and the Cobra Group among others.[2] Notably of the two works by Karoo selected by Makler, both are cut from a point of intersection in the whalebone in which a distinctive pattern of scattershot channels in the bone emanate. The channels, which once carried the blood of the whale to its extremities have been located by Karoo in the head of Drummer, and in the left shoulder of Spirit. The feature brings a distinct directionality to the compositions, echoed in the asymmetry of the figures. In the present work, particularly the curvature of its horn, and its small arm carved in relief, all of which masterfully draw the eye outward to the imposing weight of the figure’s oversized right hand. As elsewhere in Karoo’s work, the porosity of the whalebone itself, is suggestive of the immaterial character of the shaman’s domain.[3]
*https://www.waddingtons.ca/auction/inuit-art-dec-09-2021/gallery/lot/152/
[1] Pamela Harris, Karoo Ashevak Spirits (New York: American Indian Arts Center, 1973), unpaged.
[2] Paul Makler et al., “Pioneering Art in the 1960s: Philadelphia”, Sloughtart, April 6 2005.
https://slought.org/resources/pioneering_art
[3] Jean Blodgett, Karoo Ashevak (Winnipeg: The Winnipeg Art Gallery, 1977), unpaged.
Estimate: $60,000—90,000
Auction Results
| Auction Date | Auction House | Lot # | Low Est | High Est | Sold Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-05-29 | Waddington's | 33 | 60,000 | 90,000 | 92,250.00 |
