JANET KIGUSIUQ (KEEGOOSEOT; KEEGOASEAT; KEEGOOSEEOT) Born: 1926 Deceased: 2005 Female E2-71
Resides: Baker Lake
Drawings, Prints, Wallhangings, Sculpture
Janet's husband, the late Mark Uqayuittuq (1984), was also an artist.
"Janet Kigusiuq is best known for her graphics but has also gained
significant recognition in the medium of fabric art. She was born in the Back
River area of the Keewatin region of the Northwest Territories and is the
eldest daughter of Jessie Oonark. Oonark was one of Baker Lake's--and
Canada's--most distinguished artists. Kigusiuq was encouraged by her mother to
draw as a means of making money to supplement her family's meager income.
With uncanny clarity and a steady hand, Kigusiuq draws intimate portrayals of
neighbors, friends, and relatives engaged in the daily activities of camp life
rendered in minute detail, often from multiple viewpoints. She also enjoys
portraying the myths and legends told to her as a young child by her
grandmother. Over the years her style has evolved from a strong linear style
with color as a decorative accent to a more painterly style where vibrant
colors are applied in thick overlays of colored pencil. Kigusiuq's graphic art
incorporates, in a limited manner, Western conventions of spatial
perspective--shapes sometimes overlap, and there are subtle implications of
volume and space."
Marie Bouchard
In "North American Women Artists
of the Twentieth Century: A Biographical
Dictionary" 1995.
EXHIBITIONS: 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1976, Baker Lake Print Collection
1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, (annual collection)
1982, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, (illustrated catalogue)
1988, 1990
May - September 1972 Baker Lake Drawings
Winnipeg Art Gallery
Winnipeg, Manitoba
(tour)
(illustrated catalogue)
December 1973 Drawings by Anguhadluk, Annaqtussi,
Kigusiuq, Kukiiyaut of Baker Lake, N.W.T.
Robertson Galleries
Ottawa, Ontario
December 1973 Baker Lake Drawings
Robertson Galleries
Ottawa, Ontario
February 1974 Baker Lake Drawings
The Upstairs Gallery
Winnipeg, Manitoba
June - September 1974 Ulu/Inua: Form and Fantasy in Eskimo
Art
Casino Gallery, Ravinia Park
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A.
(catalogue)
October 1975 - December 1977 Inuit Games/Inuit Pinguangit/Jeux des inuit
Department of Indian Affairs and
Northern Development
Ottawa, Ontario
(tour)
(illustrated brochure)
1976 - 1982 Shamans and Spirits: Myths and Medical
Symbolism in Eskimo Art
Canadian Arctic Producers and the
National Museum of Man
Ottawa, Ontario
(tour)
(illustrated catalogue)
June 1976 Baker Lake Wallhangings 1976
The Guild Shop
Toronto, Ontario
June - August 1976 The People Within - Art from
Baker Lake
Art Gallery of Ontario
Toronto, Ontario
(tour)
(illustrated catalogue)
August 1978 Inuit Games and Contests: The Clifford E.
Lee Collection of Prints
University of Alberta
Edmonton, Alberta
(illustrated catalogue)
August - November 1978 The Zazelenchuk Collection of Eskimo Art
Winnipeg Art Gallery
Winnipeg, Manitoba
(illustrated catalogue)
September - October 1978 Baker Lake Wallhangings 1978
Gallery One
Toronto, Ontario
November - December 1978 Polar Vision: Canadian Eskimo Graphics
Jerusalem Artists' House Museum
Jerusalem, Israel
(illustrated catalogue)
December 1978 - January 1979 Baker Lake Drawings
Gallimaufrey
Croton-on-Hudson, New York, U.S.A.
March - May 1979 Eskimo Narrative
Winnipeg Art Gallery
Winnipeg, Manitoba
(tour)
(illustrated catalogue)
July 1979 - May 1980 Inuit Art in the 1970s
Department of Indian Affairs
and Northern Development, and the
Agnes Etherington Art Centre
Kingston, Ontario
(tour)
(illustrated catalogue)
July 1979 - 1981 Keewatin Wallhangings 1979-1981
Canadian Arctic Producers Ltd.
Ottawa, Ontario
(tour)
August - November 1979 Baker Lake Prints and Print Drawings
Winnipeg Art Gallery
Winnipeg, Manitoba
September - October 1979 Art of the Inuit of Baker Lake
The Galleria
Houston, Texas, U.S.A.
October 1979 Baker Lake Drawings
Vancouver Public Aquarium
Vancouver, British Columbia
November 1979 - October 1984 Shamans and Spirits: Myths and Medical
Symbolism in Eskimo Art
Arts and Learning Services Foundation
(this is a duplicate of the C.A.P. and
National Museum of Man exhibition of
1976-1981)
Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.A.
(tour)
March - April 1980 A Culture on Paper: Baker Lake Drawings
The Innuit Gallery of Eskimo Art
Toronto, Ontario
November 1980 Baker Lake Prints - Ten Year Retrospective
The Upstairs Gallery
Winnipeg, Manitoba
July - August 1981 Three Artists of Baker Lake
Image of the Inuit
Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.
January - February 1982 Baker Lake Drawings
The Upstairs Gallery
Winnipeg, Manitoba
March 1982 - January 1983 Inuit Myths, Legends and Songs
Winnipeg Art Gallery
Winnipeg, Manitoba
(tour)
(illustrated catalogue)
June - October 1982 Inuit Art from the Art Centre Collection
Macdonald Stewart Art Centre
Guelph, Ontario
December 1982 - January 1983 Noel au Chateau - Art inuit de la
collection Macdonald Stewart Art Centre
Macdonald Stewart Art Centre
Guelph, Ontario
presented at Chateau Dufresne
Montreal, Quebec
February - March 1983 Return of the Birds
Inuit Gallery of Vancouver
Vancouver, British Columbia
(illustrated catalogue)
February - April 1983 Baker Lake Prints & Print-Drawings:
1970-1976
Winnipeg Art Gallery
Winnipeg, Manitoba
(illustrated catalogue)
May 1983 - April 1985 Grasp Tight the Old Ways: Selections from
the Klamer Family Collection of Inuit Art
Art Gallery of Ontario
Toronto, Ontario
(tour)
(illustrated catalogue)
September 1983 The Way We Were - Traditional Eskimo Life
Snow Goose Associates
Seattle, Washington, USA
November 1983 - March 1985 Contemporary Indian and Inuit Art of Canada
Department of Indian Affairs and Northern
Development, Ottawa, presented at the
General Assembly Building, United Nations
New York, New York, U.S.A.
(tour)
(illustrated brochure)
February 1984 - June 1986 Arctic Vision: Art of the Canadian Inuit
Department of Indian Affairs and
Northern Development and Canadian
Arctic Producers
Ottawa, Ontario
(tour)
(illustrated catalogue)
April 1984 Games of the Inuit
Northern Images
Yellowknife, Northwest Territories
September 1984 Drawings from Baker Lake
The Innuit Gallery of Eskimo Art
Toronto, Ontario
(illustrated brochure)
February 1985 - April 1986 Die Kunst aus der Arktis
Department of Indian and Northern
Affairs Canada, Ottawa,
presented by Commerzbank
Frankfurt, Germany
(tour)
(illustrated catalogue)
May - 1985 Selections from the McMaster Art Gallery
Collection
McMaster Art Gallery
Hamilton, Ontario
June 1985 Baker Lake Prints 1985
The Innuit Gallery of Eskimo Art
Toronto, Ontario
June 1985 - September 1987 Chisel and Brush/Le ciseau et la brosse
Department of Indian Affairs
and Northern Development
Ottawa, Ontario
(tour)
(illustrated catalogue)
July - September 1985 Multiple Perspectives from Baker Lake
University of Michigan
Alumni Centre
Ann Arbor, Michigan, U.S.A.
October 1986 - February 1987 Oonark's Family
Winnipeg Art Gallery
Winnipeg, Manitoba
(illustrated brochure)
November 1986 Inuit Graphics Through the Year: Rare
Prints from the Arctic
Arctic Artistry
Scarsdale, New York, U.S.A.
May - June 1987 Inuit Graphics from the Past
Arctic Artistry
Scarsdale, New York, U.S.A.
September - November 1987 The Swinton Collection of Inuit Art
Winnipeg Art Gallery
Winnipeg, Manitoba
(illustrated catalogue)
November 1987 Inuit Traditions in Graphics: 1961-1987
Arctic Artistry
Hartsdale, New York, U.S.A.
December 1987 - March 1989 Contemporary Inuit Drawings
Macdonald Stewart Art Centre
Guelph, Ontario
(tour)
(illustrated catalogue)
March - April 1988 Works on Paper from the Permanent
Collection of Inuit Art
Canadian Guild of Crafts Quebec
Montreal, Quebec
June - September 1988 The World Around Me
University of Lethbridge Art Gallery
Lethbridge, Alberta
October 1988 Baker Lake: Persistence of Old Memories
Brandon Allied Arts Council
Brandon, Manitoba
(illustrated brochure)
November - December 1988 Art of the Eskimo: Contemporary Sculpture &
Drawings from the Canadian Arctic
Gallery 100 Hudson
New York, New York, U.S.A.
August - October 1989 Inuit Graphic Art from Indian
& Northern Affairs Canada
Winnipeg Art Gallery
Winnipeg, Manitoba
October 1989 Baker Lake Print Retrospective:
A Twenty Year Anniversary
The Upstairs Gallery
Winnipeg, Manitoba
(illustrated catalogue)
June - September 1990 Inuit Graphics and Drawings from 1959-1990
Arctic Artistry
Hastings-on-Hudson, New York, U.S.A.
October - November 1990 A Woman's Vision
Art Space Gallery
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.
November 1990 Baker Lake Wallhangings
The Innuit Gallery of Eskimo Art
Toronto, Ontario
November 1990 - February 1991 Espaces Inuit
Maison Hamel-Bruneau
Ste-Foy, Quebec
(illustrated catalogue)
February - March 1991 Inuit Drawings
Albers Gallery
San Francisco, California, U.S.A.
February - March 1991 Cape Dorset Sculpture
McMaster Art Gallery
Hamilton, Ontario
July 1991 The Great Northern Arts Festival
held in Inuvik
Northwest Territories
February - September 1992 Inuit Art: Drawings and Recent Sculpture
National Gallery of Canada
Ottawa, Ontario
June - July 1992 Women of the North: An Exhibition
of art by Inuit Women of the
Canadian Arctic
Marion Scott Gallery
Vancouver, British Columbia
(illustrated catalogue)
June - October 1992 Nouveau Territoires...
350/500 Ans Apres, Presented at les maisons
de la culture Cote-des-Neiges, Notre-Dame-
de-Grace, and Rosemont-Petite Patrie
Montreal Recreation and Community
Development Service and les Ateliers
Visions Planetaire
Montreal, Quebec
(tour)
(illustrated catalogue)
October 1992 - January 1993 Drawings and Sculpture from Baker Lake
Winnipeg Art Gallery
Winnipeg, Manitoba
(illustrated brochure)
November 1993 Northern Lights: Inuit Textile Art from the
Canadian Arctic
Baltimore Museum of Art
Baltimore
(tour)
November - December 1993 Women Who Draw: 30 Years of Graphic
Art from the Canadian Arctic
Feheley Fine Arts
Toronto, Ontario
March - August 1994 Kunst aus der Arktis
Volkerkundmuseum der Universitat Zurich
Zurich, Switzerland
(illustrated catalogue)
July 1994 Arctic Spirit
35 Years of Canadian Inuit Art
Frye Art Museum
Seattle, Washington, U.S.A.
August 1994 - April 1997 Qamanittuaq: Where the River Widens
Drawings by Baker Lake Artists
Macdonald Stewart Art Centre
Guelph, Ontario
(tour)
(illustrated catalogue)
1995 Baker Lake - Uncatalogued Prints 1979-1985
A retrospective collection exhibited at
selected galleries, organized by
Canadian Arctic Producers
Winnipeg, Manitoba
(illustrated brochure)
March - July 1995 Immaginario Inuit
Arte e cultura degli esquimesi canadesi
Galleria d'Arte Moderna
e Contemporanea
Verona, Italy
(illustrated catalogue)
April - May 1995 Baker Lake Wallhangings
Isaacs/Innuit Gallery
Toronto, Ontario
May - September 1995 Keeping Our Stories Alive:
An Exhibition of the Art and Crafts
from Dene and Inuit of Canada
Institute of American Indian Arts Museum
Santa Fe, New Mexico, U.S.A.
(illustrated catalogue)
June 1995 - February 1996 Inuit Woman: Life and Legend in Art
Winnipeg Art Gallery
Winnipeg, Manitoba
November 1995 - January 1996 Qiviuq: A Legend in Art
Carleton University Art Gallery
Ottawa, Ontario
December 1995 Thirty Years of Collecting
Arctic Artistry
Hastings-on-Hudson, New York, U.S.A.
February 1996 The Spirit World - 1977 to 1990: Baker Lake
Clyde River and Pangnirtung Prints.
A retrospective collection exhibited at
selected commercial galleries, organized by
Canadian Arctic Producers
Winnipeg, Manitoba
(illustrated catalogue)
SOLO EXHIBITIONS: October 1992 Janet Kigusiuk Recent Drawings
Galerie Brousseau & Brousseau
Quebec, Quebec
(illustrated brochure)
COLLECTIONS:
Agnes Etherington Art Centre, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario
Art Gallery of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario
Canada Council Art Bank, Ottawa, Ontario
Canadian Guild of Crafts Quebec, Montreal, Quebec
Canadian Museum of Civilization, Hull, Quebec
Clifford E. Lee Collection, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta
Dennos Museum Center, Northwestern Michigan College, Traverse City, Michigan, U.S.A.
Inuit Cultural Institute, Rankin Inlet, Northwest Territories
Klamer Family Collection, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Ontario
Macdonald Stewart Art Centre, Guelph, Ontario
Mark Osterlin Library, Northwestern Michigan College, Traverse City, Michigan, U.S.A.
McMaster University Art Gallery, Hamilton, Ontario
McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Kleinburg, Ontario
Mendel Art Gallery, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Musee d'Art Contemporain de Montreal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Musee des beaux-arts de Montreal, Montreal, Quebec
Museum of Anthropology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia
National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario
Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre, Yellowknife, Northwest Territories
Simon Fraser Gallery, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia
University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta
University of Lethbridge Art Gallery, Lethbridge, Alberta
Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, British Columbia
Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba
HONOURS, ACHIEVEMENTS and EVENTS: 1984 Presented a Jessie Oonark print to the Pope at a mass held in Ottawa on
September 20, 1984. The print 'Giver of Life' was presented on behalf
of the Inuit of Canada and will be housed in the collection of the Supreme
Patriarch of Armenia, the head of the Armenian Orthodox Church.
1989 Attended the National Gallery of Canada opening of the exhibition
"Contemporary Inuit Drawings", in Ottawa.
1993 Tied for third prize in the wallhanging competition at the Keewatin Arts and
Crafts Festival.
1993 Attended the opening of the Northern Lights exhibit in Baltimore, where she
spoke about her life and work as well as demonstrating embroidery and applique
techniques.
SELECTED REFERENCES:
ARTS OF THE ESKIMO: PRINTS: /Ed. by Ernst Roch. Texts by
Patrick Furneaux and Leo Rosshandler. Montreal: Signum Press in
association with Oxford University Press, Toronto, 1974.
EIGHT ARTISTS FROM BAKER LAKE EXHIBIT AT ART GALLERY. City
Dweller, Ward-7 Edition (Toronto), July 1976.
Arngna'naaq, Ruby
JANET KIGUSIUQ. Inuktitut, Winter:39-43, 1984.
Arngna'naaq, Ruby
PRINTMAKER FOLLOWS MOTHER'S STEPS TO FAME. Ottawa Citizen,
March 1985.
Art Gallery of Ontario
THE PEOPLE WITHIN = LES GENS DE L'INTERIEUR. Toronto: Art
Gallery of Ontario, 1976.
Baele, Nancy
INUIT ART: A new show comes to the National Gallery. Ottawa
Citizen, January 13, 1989.
Blodgett, Jean
GRASP TIGHT THE OLD WAYS: Selections from the Klamer Family
Collection of Inuit Art. Toronto: Art Gallery of Ontario, 1983.
Brandon Allied Arts Council
BAKER LAKE: Persistence of Old Memories. Brandon: Brandon
Allied Arts Council, 1988.
Canada. Indian and Northern Affairs
TRANSCRIPTS OF INTERVIEWS WITH JESSIE OONARK AND HER CHILDREN:
Interviews conducted by Marion E. Jackson with interpretation by
William Noah. Unpublished manuscript of background material for
a project sponsored by the Inuit Art Section, Indian and
Northern Affairs Canada, 1984.
Driscoll, Bernadette
INUIT MYTHS, LEGENDS AND SONGS. Winnipeg: The Winnipeg Art
Gallery, 1982.
Fernstrom, Katharine W. and Anita E. Jones
NORTHERN LIGHTS: Inuit Textile Art from the Canadian Arctic.
Baltimore, Md.: Baltimore Museum of Art, 1993.
Fry, Jacqueline
CONTEMPORARY ARTS IN NON-WESTERN SOCIETIES. artscanada, vol.
27, no. 6, December-January, 1971. pp.96-101.
Halifax Mail Star
FIRST MAJOR EXHIBITION OF INUIT ART TO BE DISPLAYED. Halifax
Mail Star, June 9, 1976.
Hassler, Gitta
KUNST AUS DER ARKTIS: GRAPHIKEN DER INUIT IN KANADA. Zurich:
Volkerkundmuseum der Universitat Zurich, 1994.
Institute of American Indian Arts Museum
KEEPING OUR STORIES ALIVE: An Exhibition of Art and Crafts from
Dene and Inuit of Canada. Santa Fe, N.M.: Institute of American
Native Arts Museum, 1995.
Jackson, Marion E.
CONTEMPORARY INUIT DRAWINGS. Guelph, Ontario: Macdonald Stewart
Art Centre, 1987.
Knell, Michael J.
A LIVING BRIDGE. Art Impressions: Vol. 9, No. 5, Winter, 1993.
Lipton, Barbara
ARCTIC VISION: Art of the Canadian Inuit. Ottawa : Canadian
Arctic Producers, 1984.
Marion Scott Gallery
WOMEN OF THE NORTH: AN EXHIBITION OF ART BY INUIT WOMEN OF THE
CANADIAN ARCTIC: June 6-July 11, 1992. Vancouver: Marion
Scott Gallery, 1992.
McGrath, Robin
MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE: The Clothing Motif in Inuit Legends
and Art. Inuit Art Quarterly: Vol. 8, No.4, Winter 1993, pp.
16-23.
Mellen, Peter
JANET KIGUSIUQ: A Giant, Half Human, Half Animal, Attacks. In:
LANDMARKS OF CANADIAN ART. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart
Limited, 1978. pp.78-79.
Mellen, Peter
LANDMARKS OF CANADIAN ART. Toronto, McClelland and Stewart, 1978.
Muehlen, Maria
DRAWINGS AND RECENT SCULPTURE AT THE NATIONAL GALLERY OF
CANADA. Inuit Art Quarterly, vol. 7, no. 3, Summer/Fall 1992,
p. 45.
Muehlen, Maria
SOME RECENT WORK BY WOMEN OF BAKER LAKE. Inuit Art Quarterly,
vol. 7, no.3, Summer/Fall, 1992, pp. 30-35.
Parkin, Jeanne
THE PEOPLE WITHIN: ART FROM BAKER LAKE = LES GENS DE
L'INTERIEUR: L'ART DE BAKER LAKE. Artmagazine, vol. 7, no. 28,
Summer/ete, 1976. pp.66-75.
Swinton, George
ESKIMO ART RECONSIDERED. Artscanada, vol. 27, no. 6,
December-January, 1971-72. pp.85-94.
Townsend-Gault, Charlotte
DRAWING ON INUIT. Inuit Art Quarterly, Vol. 4, No. 4, Fall,
1989. pp.10-13.
Verona. Galleria d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea
IMMAGINARIO INUIT: ARTE E CULTURA DEGLI ESQUIMESICANADESI.
Commune di Verona: Galleria d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea di
Palazzo Forti, 1995.
Vision Planetaire
NOUVEAUX TERRITOIRES: 350/500 ANS APRES: Une exposition d'art
aborigene contemporain du Canada. Montreal: Vision Planetaire:
Ville de Montreal: UNESCO, 1992.
Winnipeg Art Gallery
DRAWINGS AND SCULPTURE FROM BAKER LAKE. Winnipeg, Man.:
Winnipeg Art Gallery, 1992.
Winnipeg Art Gallery
SWINTON COLLECTION OF INUIT ART. Winnipeg Art Gallery, 1987.
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