Nature’s Power by Mary Okheena

$320.00

Artist:                   Mary Okheena

Community:         Holman/Ulukhaktok

Year:                     2000

Media:               Print 22/30

Available:                Framed/Unframed

In stock

SKU: MO01 Categories: , Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Description

Older print (2000) “nature’s Power by Mary Okheena” from Holman/Ulkhaktok.

Mary Okheena is a prominent multidisciplinary artist based in Ulukhaktok (Holman), NT, who primarily works in graphic art but also creates wall hangings and embroidered works. Across each medium, Okheena’s work is characterized by playful visual narratives, which include both human and animal figures. She first learned different printmaking techniques from her father, sculptor and printmaker Jimmy Memorana (1919-2009) as well as learning stencil and woodcut printmaking techniques from artist Harry Egotak (1925-2009). Over the decades, Okheena has refined her skills as a printmaker, illustrator and designer to create a variety of deftly produced and vibrant works.

Growing up, Okheena was always creating sketches on scrap pieces of paper while also watching her dad and other family members create prints. Inspired by their work as well as her own drive to pursue art making, Okheena eventually became involved with printmaking, drawing and embroidery at the Holman Print Shop. In 1977 she sold her first drawing as a professional artist. In the early days of her printmaking she mostly printed the images other artist’s produced, many of which were included in the annual Holman Print Collections from 1979-1981. In1986 she began printing her own drawings at the print shop.

Okheena prefers to use the stencil technique in her work, which is a freehand technique that allows for more control over the final image. Her skill with a variety of print technologies, including stencils and lithography, allows her to make sharp works with vibrant colours. She regularly draws vivid scenes that include human figures in motion and ready to move beyond the borders of the drawing or textile. For example in Cleaning Our Fur (n.d.), a girl slides down a snowy hill on a piece of fur with a polar bear in the background following suit. Both the girl and the polar bear are ready to continue sliding right off the page.

To date, Okheena has produced over seventy drawings that have been made into prints, thirty-six of which she printed herself. Aside from printmaking, Okheena practices embroidery and is well-known for her detailed wall hangings. Okheena’s pieces have been exhibited across Canada and the US. Her work can be found in public collections such as the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, QC, the Prince of Wales Heritage Centre in Yellowknife, NT, the Winnipeg Art Gallery in Winnipeg, MB, and more. In addition, Okheena has also illustrated stories including for the 1997 book The Dancing Fox: Arctic Folktales by John Bierhorst. (see https://www.inuitartfoundation.org/profiles/artist/Mary-Okheena)

Mary Okheena

For more info see “Biography Mary Okheena”

Additional information

Dimensions 20 × 24 in

Biography Mary Okheena

Mary Okheena
Settlement: Holman / Ulukhaktok
(1955) — W2-854

Exhibitions

A Woman’s Vision
Art Space Gallery
Arctic Mirror
Canadian Museum of Civilization
Arctic Wallhangings
Albers Gallery
Bears of the North
Snow Goose Associates
Contemporary Inuit Drawings
Muscarelle Museum of Art College of William and Mary
Holman Prints *86
(annual collection)
Holman Prints *87
(annual collection)
Holman Prints *88
(annual collection)
Holman Prints *89
(annual collection)
Holman Prints *90
(annual collection)
Holman Prints *91
(annual collection)
Holman Prints *92
(annual collection)
Holman Prints *93
(annual collection)
Holman Prints *94
(annual collection)
Holman Prints *95
(annual collection)
Holman Prints *96
(annual collection)
Holman Prints (printmaker) *79
(annual collection)
Holman Prints (printmaker) *80/81
(annual collection)
Holman Prints (printmaker) *86
(annual collection)
Holman Prints (printmaker) *87
(annual collection)
Holman Prints (printmaker) *88
(annual collection)
Holman Prints (printmaker) *90
(annual collection)
Holman Prints (printmaker) *94
(annual collection)
Holman Prints (printmaker) *96
(annual collection)
Images of Influence: Contemporary Inuit Art
Surrey Art Gallery
Images of the Far North
Arctic Artistry (held at the Erie County Fairgrounds)
Inuit Art on the Mezzanine: New Acquisitions
Winnipeg Art Gallery
Inuit Art: Tradition and Regeneration
Canadian Museum of Civilization
Inuit Graphics from the Past
Arctic Artistry
Inuit Traditions in Graphics: 1961-1987
Arctic Artistry
Keeping Our Stories Alive: An Exhibition of the Art and Crafts from Dene and Inuit of Canada
Institute of American Indian Arts Museum
Mother and Child: Sculpture and Prints
Albers Gallery
Qiviuq: A Legend in Art
Carleton University Art Gallery
The Arctic Project: A Photographic Exchange
Surrey Art Gallery
The Great Northern Arts Festival
held in Inuvik
The Lindsay and Swartz Collections: New Acquisitions
Winnipeg Art Gallery
The Prints Never Seen: Holman, 1977-1987
Albers Gallery of Inuit Art
Women of the North: An Exhibition of art by Inuit Women of the Canadian Arctic
Marion Scott Gallery

Public Collections

Canadian Guild of Crafts Quebec
Montreal
Canadian Museum of Civilization
Hull
Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre
Yellowknife
University of Alberta
Edmonton
Winnipeg Art Gallery
Winnipeg

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