NAMOONAI ASHOONA Sold at Auction Prices

b. 1926 -

NAMOONAI ASHOONA (NAMONAI)
Born: December, 1926 Male E7-1094
Resides: Cape Dorset
Sculpture

Namonai Ashoona was born in 1926 on Baffin Island. He comes from one of the most famous artistic families in cape Dorset. His mother, Pitseolak Ashoona, was renown for her prints and drawings (now deceased). His brothers Kaka Ashoona and Kiawak Ashoona are two of Canada's top Inuit artists. Other well-known members of the Ashoona family include their brother Koomwartok, an excellent carver, their sister Napatchie, a talented print maker, as well as Kaka's son Ohito Ashoona, who, although much younger, was primarily responsible for teaching Namonai how to carve.

Namonai's favourite subject matter is bears, and he tends to represent them walking, with elongated and sleek bodies. The stone he uses is unique to Baffin Island, called serpentinite. It is a very hard metamorphic rock with a composition similar to Jade. Colour vary naturally from light green to dark brown or black, due to inclusion of other minerals. serpentinite takes a brilliant natural polish.

In 1974, Namonai participated in the film "WHITE DAWN", which is based on the novel of the same name by James Houston.




EXHIBITIONS:
1951 Eskimo Art
National Gallery of Canada
Ottawa, Ontario
(illustrated brochure)
November - December 1980 Cape Dorset Sculpture
Collector's Choice
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
April - May 1981 Festival of Birds
The Arctic Circle
Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.
March - April 1984 Heritage of the Inuit: Masterpieces
of the Eskimo
Colorado Galleries of the Arts,
Arapahoe Community College
Littleton, Colorado, U.S.A.
January - February 1989 The Art of the Eskimo
Newman Galleries
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.
June - July 1990 Small Sculptures from across the
Canadian Arctic
Feheley Fine Arts
Toronto, Ontario
September - November 1993 The Bear: Sculpture
Albers Gallery
San Francisco, California, U.S.A.
September 1995 Sedna: Spirit of the Sea
Feheley Fine Arts
Toronto, Ontario
COLLECTIONS:
McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Kleinburg, Ontario
Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba