JOHN PANGNARK (1920-1980) ARVIAT (ESKIMO POINT)
Kneeling Woman, early-mid 1970s
stone, 4.5 x 4.75 x 2 in (11.4 x 12.1 x 5.1 cm)
signed, "ᐸᓂᔭ".

Provenance
By repute: Purchased directly from the artist by Elaine and John Gold while stationed in Churchill, Manitoba;
Gifted by the above to a Private Collection, 1975;
Waddington's, 9 December 2021, Lot 115;
Acquired from the above by the present Private Collection, Ontario.

Pangnark’s subtle and refined carving style typically reduces the human figure to its absolute essential. The basic form of this figure follows this minimalist aesthetic to some degree, but it also provides us with hints of human anatomy and even clothing. Pangnark provides us with the bare minimum - eyes, nose, and mouth - but adds softly swelling forms that clearly reveal the figure’s chin, arms, knees, and even its large hood. Thus are we able to distinguish this sculpture as a depiction of a Kneeling Woman. The figure has a distinct air of placid solidity that we don’t often see in Pangnark’s minimalist works. The sculpture’s almost rustic charm is enhanced by the tactile quality of the myriad rasp and file marks purposely left by the artist.

References: For numerous other works by Pangnark in various shapes and sizes see First Arts, Nov. 2021, Lots 38-39; July 2021, Lots 32, 61; Dec. 2020, Lot 88; July 2020, Lot 30. See also George Swinton, Sculpture of the Inuit (Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1972/92), figs. 56, 615-624; Norman Zepp, Pure Vision: The Keewatin Spirit (Regina; Norman Mackenzie Art Gallery, 1986), cats. 20-31; and Bernadette Driscoll, Eskimo Point/Arviat, (Winnipeg: Winnipeg Art Gallery, 1982), cats. 59-72.