OSUITOK IPEELEE, R.C.A. (1922 or 1923-2005) KINNGAIT (CAPE DORSET
Bear and Fish, early-mid 1980s
stone, 21 x 6 x 5 in (53.3 x 15.2 x 12.7 cm)
signed and inscribed, "ᐅᓱᐃᑐ ᐃᐱᓕ ᑭᒐᐃ (Kinngait)".

Provenance
Feheley Fine Arts, Toronto;
Acquired from the above by John and Joyce Price, Seattle, WA, 2016.

While it is true that Osuitok’s creations benefited greatly from his firsthand knowledge of Arctic animals and their behaviour, it is also clear to us that Osuitok’s true genius lay in his ability to transform his animal subjects into stylized objects of his imagination. In the case of Bear and Fish, Osuitok has transformed his bear into a slender, pirouetting ballerina who almost seems to be tossing a fish into the air. Apparently unaffected by the tug of gravity, the bear looks poised to leave the ground entirely. Far from looking predatory, this image is positively joyful, playful, even ecstatic.

As with his stylized, idealized depictions of caribou, Osuitok has taken enormous liberties with the bear’s proportions. We get the sense, though, that Osuitok is not trying to portray an ideal bear here. Perhaps the point of this amazing sculpture is not about bears and fish per se, but rather about pushing the limits of stylization; seeing if stone sculpture can embody pure energy and movement and elegance, nominally in bear form. Even by the standards of an artist whose career was built on experimentation and theatricality, Bear and Fish is a work of daring.

References: Osuitok did not carve bears often; see Jean Blodgett, Grasp Tight the Old Ways: Selections from the Klamer Family Collection of Inuit Art (Toronto: Art Gallery of Ontario, 1983), cat. 71, p. 115; Darlene Coward Wight, Creation and Transformation: Defining Moments in Inuit Art, (Winnipeg: Winnipeg Art Gallery, 2012), cat. 60; Marion Scott Gallery, Inspiration: Four Decades of Sculpture by Canadian Inuit, (Vancouver: Marion Scott Gallery, 1996), cat. 26. For another fine composition of predator and prey by Osuitok see First Arts Auction, Dec. 2020, Lot 106.