JOHN KAVIK (1897-1993) KANGIQLINIQ (RANKIN INLET)
Standing Man, late 1960s
stone, 10.25 x 5.25 x 2.75 in (26 x 13.3 x 7 cm)
unsigned.

Provenance
A Toronto Collection;
Walker's Auctions, 15 November 2014, Lot 213;
Private Collection, Montreal.

This remarkable figure is highly unusual in Kavik’s oeuvre. Carved in a relatively soft stone that made it easy to carve and finish, its gently rounded contours are almost startling, given the artist’s typically rugged and even raw carving style. Standing Man’s pose is relaxed, almost nonchalant. The seemingly well-fed figure appears to be standing with his hands in his pockets. Only the facial features, the drill holes that simply yet effectively suggest the figure’s hands, and perhaps the legs are definitive clues revealing the artist’s identity, and even those are simplified and streamlined. Fascinating and quite wonderful.

References: For other examples of the artist’s work, see First Arts, July 2020, Lots 81-83; Nov. 2021, Lots 40, 81, 93. See also George Swinton, Sculpture of the Inuit, (Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1972/92), figs. 639-647, p. 214-215; Norman Zepp, Pure Vision: The Keewatin Spirit, (Regina: Norman Mackenzie Art Gallery, 1986), pp. 108-119; Canadian Eskimo Arts Council, Sculpture / Inuit: Masterworks of the Canadian Arctic, (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1971), figs. 102, 223, 284, 291, 322, 346, 359, 386, 397; Ingo Hessel, Inuit Art: An Introduction, (Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre / New York: Harry Abrams / London: British Museum Press, 1998), figs. 77-78. See also Walker’s Auctions, May 2014, Lot 220; Nov. 2016, Lot 17; May 2017, Lot 34.