Kananginak Pootoogook
(1935–)
(–2010)
Kananginak Pootoogook
1935–2010
Kananginak Pootoogook (1935–2010) was an Inuit artist born in Ikirasaq, Nunavut. He was the son of a prominent camp leader, Josephie Pootoogook, and grew up according to traditional Inuit values, which came to influence themes in his art.
He settled in Kinngait (formerly known as Cape Dorset) and since the late 1950s, Kananginak had been involved in the West Baffin Eskimo Co-operative (WBEC), the first Inuit owned co-op. Kananginak’s first print, a collaborative image with his father, was included in the first catalogued collection of Cape Dorset prints in 1959. Through the program, he learned printmaking techniques such as etchings and lithographs and became one of the four original printers for the studio, translating artist’s drawings into prints.
In addition to printmaking, Kananginak specialized in detailed documentary-style drawings influenced by traditional Arctic wildlife, hunting scenes, and material Inuit culture, often using humour in his approach. In 1997, He was commissioned by the Governor General of Canada to carve an Inukshuk at Rideau hall. He had his first solo exhibition at the Museum of Inuit Art in Toronto in 2010. Kananginak has widely exhibited his work nationally and internationally, at galleries such as Albers Gallery in San Francisco, the National Gallery of Canada, the Embankment Gallery in London, and the Winnipeg Art Gallery. He also received the National Aboriginal Achievement Award in 2010. In 2017, Kananginak became the first Inuit artist to show at the 57th Venice Biennale, increasing International awareness for Cape Dorset artists.
