Itee Pootoogook
A life-long resident of Cape Dorset, Nunavut, Itee Pootoogook belonged to a new generation of Inuit artists who transformed and reshaped the creative traditions that were successfully pioneered by their parents and grandparents in the second half of the 20th century. Born in 1951 in Kimmirut (formerly Lake Harbour) on southern Baffin Island, he moved to Cape Dorset when he was still a child. The son of artists Ishuhungitok and Paulassie Pootoogook, Itee had been drawing and carving for several years before becoming actively involved with Kinngait Studios in Cape Dorset. The first print edition of Itee’s work, Looking South, was released in the Spring of 2008 as part of the “Nine Works by Seven Artists” contemporary folio. This was followed by the Fall 2008 annual Cape Dorset print release, in which Itee’s work was featured with two of his prints.
A meticulous draughtsman, Pootoogook looked primarily to contemporary northern life for his subject matter. He was especially interested in modern local architectural forms, producing works in graphite and coloured pencil that depict various contemporary buildings in Cape Dorset. Pootoogook’s portraits of acquaintances and family members similarly bear witness to the North of contemporary times. Whether they are captured at work or rest, Pootoogook’s subjects are shown engaged in a range of modern activities including stone carving and watching television indoors. Featuring a minimum of incident, these understated images celebrate the mundane moments that make up the everyday. Pootoogook is also an inventive landscapist. Many of his finest Arctic landscapes make use of extended formats, giving emphasis to the open horizon that separates land from sky. Although some compositions are produced from a combination of memory and imagination, Pootoogook based many of his drawings on photographs, an aspect of his artistic process that further highlights his contemporaneity.
SOLO EXHIBITIONS:
November, 2010: Itee Pootoogook – An Arctic Lens - Feheley Fine Arts - Toronto, Ontario (illustrated catalogue)
March – April, 2011: Itee Pootoogook - Marion Scott Gallery - Vancouver, British Columbia - (illustrated brochure)
April – June, 2012: Looking at Looking with Itee Pootoogook - Marion Scott Gallery, Vancouver, BC
June - August 2013: Itee Pootoogook - Buildings and Land, Contemporary Art Gallery, Vancouver, British Columbia
June - September 2013: Itee Pootoogook - Sky at Night - Contemporary Art Gallery/Yaletown - Roundhouse Station - Vancouver, British Columbia
July 2013: Plots and Icons - Marion Scott Gallery - Vancouver, British Columbia
SELECTED REFERENCES:
Itee Pootoogook: A Comfort Level in the Medium, Jessica Newton - Inuit Art Quarterly Fall 2010 Vol 25 No 3
Itee Pootoogook: Drawing in the Cold, Robert Enright - Border Crossings, 2011 Issue # 115
Eye on the Arctic - Artist Itee Pootoogook’s Unique Take on Contemporary Inuit Life - Ellis Quinn - Radio Canada International, September 20th, 2013
PUBLIC COLLECTIONS:
Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Ontario
National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario
