KENOJUAK ASHEVAK, C.C., R.C.A. (1927-2013) KINNGAIT (CAPE DORSET)
Untitled (Complex of Spirit Beings), c. 1960
graphite on paper, 16.25 x 21 in (41.3 x 53.3 cm), framed, sight
apparently unsigned.

Provenance
Collection of John and Joyce Price, Seattle.

In interviews with Dorothy Eber, Kenojuak explained that her art making practice began with cardboard cut-out patterns, first for her sealskin designs in the 1950s and later, because she thought they would also help with her earliest drawings. In these early graphite drawings, however, we can understand that these patterns were merely used as points of departure. As curator Dorothy LaBarge suggests in her discussion of Kenojuak’s graphite drawing for the 1960 print Complex of Birds, "As her forms began to interconnect, Kenojuak's characteristic fluid line and innate sense of balance lent a rhythmic, decorative quality to her works [...] For Kenojuak, birds, fish, and human figures were departure points for abstract designs" [1].

Untitled (Complex of Spirit Beings) is an exuberant image drawn in Kenojuak’s distinctive early style, but with a mysterious quality that features an unusual bestiary of creatures. The figures jockey on the page in an exciting and imaginative manner that resembles the flickering spontaneity of shadow games played inside a skin tent or igloo. These strange and elegant shapes merge and intermingle with one another with a fluidity and shifting sense of action that is quite compelling.

The lively creatures in this drawing defy easy recognition; they are quite literally “fabulous” in the way they suggest the mythical and supernatural. The central figure, accompanied by two seals, is a sea goddess or mermaid-like being; two birds spring from her head in place of braids. Her hands seem to orchestrate the dancing shapes of hybrid bird-dog beasts surrounding her. This unusual and fascinating drawing by Kenojuak is one of her most enigmatic images, revealing an enchanted world with an enticing air of mystery.

1. LaBarge, From Drawing to Print, 1986, p. 22.

References: The work is very similar in subject and style to one of Kenojuak’s most iconic early prints, Complex of Birds. See illustration in Jean Blodgett, Kenojuak, (Toronto: Firefly Books, 1985) p. 37 and elsewhere. See also appreciation for Complex of Birds in First Arts, Toronto, 12 July 2020, Lot 14. For an excellent overview of Kenojuak’s early drawings, see Dorothy LaBarge, From Drawing to Print: Perception and Process in Cape Dorset Art, (Calgary: Glenbow Museum, 1986), pp. 24-25.