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Dear friends,
Please visit us in person or online to see our new acquisitions. Of course, we can only highlight a fraction of our selections in newsletters and on the website. If you are looking for a particular artist, subject or community, please contact us and we will be happy to assist you.
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Opening reception on May 14 from 6 to 8 pm
to see twenty-four recent drawings from Cape Dorset by Jutai Toonoo, Ningeokuluk Teevee, Nicotye Samayualie,Tim Pitsiulak, Qavavau Manumie, Olooreak Etungat, Shuvinai Ashoona, and Kudluajuq Ashoona.
The drawings in Views From the North II: Recent Drawings from Cape Dorset range from Tim Pitsiulak's majestic Sedna's Giants to the mysticism of Ningeokuluk Teevee's Lumaajuuq's Story and Lumaaq Taken to the Deep (both based on the legend of the blind boy and the loon) to the semi-abstraction of Jutai Toonoo's landscapes to the calm understatement of Olooreak Etungat's Tip of the Iceberg; at the Floe Edge.
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The entire lower arm of this traditional halibut hook is carved in the form of a dramatic raven's head. It is probably Tlingit or Haida and dates from the early 19th century. Bill Holm described how halibut hooks combined art and functionality: 'The technologies of fishing and hunting were highly developed. . . . Many of these utilitarian implements are the art objects of today's collections. Early European and Euro-American visitors to the coast were amazed and chagrined at the efficiency of native fishing equipment, which was crude in appearance by their standards. . . . The two-piece wooden halibut hook of the northern coast was a particularly awkward-looking contrivance. Yet it was actually a marvel of practical design, perfectly suited to the taking of the great flatfish. Although the two pieces of wood and a bone barb, lashed together with split spruce root, seem haphazard in form, every angle, curve, and measurement was standardized through generations of experience to the most efficient arrangements.' Bill Holm, The Box of Daylight: Northwest Coast Indian Art (Seattle Art Museum, University of Washington Press 1983) at pp. 88-89
'A universal feature of northern halibut hooks is the sculptural decoration of the lower arm, the one that faces the ocean floor on which the halibut lie. The figures carved on this arm are intended to influence the fish to take the hook, and so exceed the decorative.' Bill Holm, Spirit and Ancestor (Burke Museum, University of Washington Press 1987) at p. 218.
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About Us
Alaska on Madison is a gallery of indigenous art of Alaska and Canada run by collectors for collectors. We feature Inuit art of the twentieth and twenty-first century Canadian Arctic, two-thousand-year-old objects from the Old Bering Sea cultures, and nineteenth century art from the Northwest Coast peoples and Yup'ik Eskimos. Our collection ranges from museum-quality works to more modest but still excellent works for private collectors, whether novice or sophisticated. We also have a selection of books that will enhance your appreciation of your collection.
Baffled by syllabic signatures? Learn how to interpret them by using our guide, Deciphering Inuktitut Signatures, and our Inuit Artist Search Tool.
Regular gallery hours are Tuesday - Saturday 1:30 - 6:00 pm, but it's always a good idea to call or email in advance in case we have an appointment out of the gallery.
Visit our website
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