KOOMWARTOK ASHOONA (KUMWARTOK; KOOMWATOOK; KOOMORATUK; KOMWARTOK; KOAWARKTOO; KUMORTOK) Born: October 10, 1930 Male E7-1102 Died: April 22, 1984 Resided: Cape Dorset Sculpture Koomwartok was the son of graphic artist Pitseolak Ashoona of Cape Dorset. His brothers are Cape Dorset sculptors Kaka and Kiawak Ashoona. Koomwartok's wife, Mary Koomwartok Ashoona, and his son, Salomonie Ashoona, are sculptors in Cape Dorset. EXHIBITIONS: 1967 Eskimo Sculpture Winnipeg Art Gallery presented at the Manitoba Legislative Building Winnipeg, Manitoba (illustrated catalogue) Jan - Feb 1967 Cape Dorset - A Decade of Eskimo Prints & Recent Sculpture National Gallery of Canada, in cooperation with the Canadian Eskimo Art Committee Ottawa, Ontario (tour) (illustrated catalogue) April - May 1967 Carvings and Prints by the Family of Pitseolak Robertson Galleries Ottawa, Ontario Aug - Sep 1968 Eskimo Sculpture, Eskimo Prints and Paintings of Norval Morrisseau Art Association of Newport Newport, Rhode Island, U.S.A. (illustrated catalogue) Sep - Nov 1969 The Eskimo Museum of Fine Arts Houston, Texas, U.S.A. (illustrated catalogue) Sep - Oct 1971 Eskimo Carvings and Prints from the Collection of York University Art Gallery of York University Downsview, Ontario (illustrated catalogue) 1975 Cape Dorset - Selected Sculpture from the Collection of the Winnipeg Art Gallery Winnipeg Art Gallery Winnipeg, Manitoba (illustrated catalogue) 1975 - 1979 We Lived by Animals/Nous Vivions des Animaux Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development in cooperation with the Department of External Affairs Ottawa, Ontario (tour) (illustrated catalogue) October 1978 Kiawak, Kumwartok, Kaka: The Sons of Pitseolak Ashoona - Cape Dorset The Innuit Gallery of Eskimo Art Toronto, Ontario (illustrated brochure) March - April 1979 Sculpture of the Inuit: Lorne Balshine Collection/Lou Osipov Collection/ Dr. Harry Winrob Collection Surrey Art Gallery Surrey, British Columbia (illustrated catalogue) March - April 1979 Canadian Eskimo Art: a representative exhibition from the collection of Professor and Mrs. Philip Gray Fine Arts Gallery, Montana State University Bozeman, Montana, U.S.A. (catalogue) Nov - Dec 1979 In Celebration Canadian Guild of Crafts Quebec Montreal, Quebec Nov 1979 - Jan 1980 Cape Dorset Sculpture Signature Shop Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A. December 1979 The Eskimo World in Carving Signature Shop Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A. January - March 1980 Cape Dorset Winnipeg Art Gallery Winnipeg, Manitoba (illustrated catalogue) September 1981 The Year of the Bear The Arctic Circle Los Angeles, California, U.S.A. Sept - Oct 1981 The Jacqui and Morris Shumiatcher Collection of Inuit Art Norman Mackenzie Art Gallery, University of Regina Regina, Saskatchewan (illustrated catalogue) Oct - Nov 1981 The Inuit Sea Goddess Surrey Art Gallery, (organized to complement the Musee des beaux-arts de Montreal exhibit of the same name) Vancouver, British Columbia (illustrated catalogue) March - April 1982 Songs in Stone The Arctic Circle Los Angeles, California, U.S.A. Oct - Dec 1982 Collector's Choice: 1965-1980 Inuit Gallery of Vancouver Vancouver, British Columbia (illustrated catalogue) March - April 1984 Heritage of the Inuit: Masterpieces of the Eskimo Colorado Galleries of the Arts, Arapahoe Community College Littleton, Colorado, U.S.A. December 1985 Masterwork Sculpture 1985 Inuit Gallery of Vancouver Vancouver, British Columbia (illustrated catalogue) July 1986 Baffin Island Sculpture Inuit Gallery of Vancouver Vancouver, British Columbia (illustrated catalogue) Jun - Sep 1988 Building on Strengths: New Inuit Art from the Collection Winnipeg Art Gallery Winnipeg, Manitoba February - June 1991 Granville Island Canadian Inuit Sculpture Exhibition (first exhibition) Vancouver Inuit Art Society Vancouver, British Columbia April - July 1993 Multiple Realities: Inuit Images of Shamanic Transformation Winnipeg Art Gallery Winnipeg, Manitoba (illustrated brochure) Sept - Nov 1993 The Bear: Sculpture Albers Gallery San Francisco, California, U.S.A. July 1994 Arctic Spirit 35 Years of Canadian Inuit Art Frye Art Museum Seattle, Washington, U.S.A. Jan - Feb 1995 The Collector's Eye Inuit Art from Private Collections Albers Gallery San Francisco, California, USA (illustrated brochure) SOLO EXHIBITIONS: April - May 1980 Sculpture by Kumwartok Ashoona Image of the Inuit Los Angeles, California, U.S.A. November 1980 Kumwartok Ashoona: Sculpture Canadian Guild of Crafts Quebec Montreal, Quebec May 1983 The Mysterious World of Komwartok Ashoona Inuit Gallery of Vancouver Vancouver, British Columbia (illustrated catalogue) COLLECTIONS: Art Gallery of Hamilton, Hamilton, Ontario Art Gallery of York University, Downsview, Ontario Canadian Guild of Crafts Quebec, Montreal, Quebec Canadian Museum of Civilization, Hull, Quebec Dennos Museum Center, Northwestern Michigan College, Traverse City, Michigan, U.S.A. Inuit Cultural Institute, Rankin Inlet, Northwest Territories Musee des beaux-arts de Montreal, Montreal, Quebec Museum of Anthropology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario University of Lethbridge Art Gallery, Lethbridge, Alberta Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba HONOURS, ACHIEVEMENTS and EVENTS: 1980 Pierre Trudeau presented British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher with a piece by Ashoona. SELECTED REFERENCES: Canadian Guild of Crafts Quebec CANADIAN GUILD OF CRAFTS QUEBEC. = GUILDE CANADIENNE DES METIERS D'ART QUEBEC: The Permanent Collection: Inuit Arts and Crafts, c. 1900-1980. Montreal: Canadian Guild of Crafts Quebec, 1980. Gillmor, Alison THE ASHOONA FAMILY OF CAPE DORSET. Inuit Art Quarterly, 10(2) Summer 1995, pp. 38-39. Inuit Art Collection CAPE DORSET: Sculptors and their Sculpture. Manchester, Conn.: The Inuit Art Collection, 1981. Inuit Gallery of Vancouver Baffin Island Sculpture. Vancouver, B.C. : Inuit Gallery, 1986. Inuit Gallery of Vancouver COLLECTOR'S CHOICE: 1965 - 1980. Vancouver: Inuit Gallery, l982. Inuit Gallery of Vancouver THE MYSTERIOUS WORLD OF KOOMWARTOK ASHOONA. Vancouver: The Inuit Gallery of Vancouver, 1983. Jackson, Marion E. THE ASHOONAS OF CAPE DORSET: In Touch with Tradition. North/Nord, vol. 29, no. 3, Fall, 1982. pp.14-18. National Gallery of Canada CAPE DORSET: A Decade of Eskimo Prints and Recent Sculpture = Dix ans d'estampes esquimaudes et sculptures recentes. Ottawa: The National Gallery of Canada, 1967. Norman Mackenzie Art Gallery THE JACQUI AND MORRIS SHUMIATCHER COLLECTION OF INUIT ART. Regina: The Norman Mackenzie Art Gallery, 1981. Surrey Art Gallery THE INUIT SEA GODDESS. Surrey: The Surrey Art Gallery, 1981. Swinton, George ESKIMO SCULPTURE. = SCULPTURE ESQUIMAUDE. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1965. Swinton, George MULTIPLE REALITIES: Inuit Images of Shamanic Transformation. Inuit Art Quarterly: Vol. 8, No. 4, Winter, 1993, pp. 43-47. Wight, Darlene BUILDING ON STRENGTHS: New Inuit Art from the Collection. Tableau, vol. 1, no.5, 1988. p.4. Winnipeg Art Gallery CAPE DORSET. Winnipeg: The Winnipeg Art Gallery, 1979. Winnipeg Art Gallery CAPE DORSET: Selected Sculpture from the Collection of the Winnipeg Art Gallery. Winnipeg: The Winnipeg Art Gallery, 1975. Winnipeg Art Gallery ESKIMO SCULPTURE. Winnipeg: The Winnipeg Art Gallery, 1967. York University. Art Gallery ESKIMO CARVINGS AND PRINTS FROM THE COLLECTION OF YORK UNIVERSITY. Toronto, Ont., Art Gallery of York University, 1971. (c) Inuit Art Section, INAC 1995 |