Biography Ohito Ashoona
June 13, 2024
OHITO ASHOONA (OKITUK; OHIKTO; OQUITUK; OQITUK)
Date of Birth: December 11, 1952 Male/Female: Male E7 – 1304
Place of Birth: Cape Dorset
Mother: Mayoreak Ashoona
Father: Qaqaq Ashoona
Ohito grew up in an outpost camp not far from Cape Dorset. Here he learned to carve by watching his
father, the well-known sculptor Qaqaq Ashoona and his uncle, Kiawak Ashoona, also a renowned artist.
EXHIBITIONS:
September 1981 The Year of the Bear
The Arctic Circle
Los Angeles,California, U.S.A.
March – April 1982 Songs in Stone
The Arctic Circle
Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.
March1988 Arctic Forms – Inuit Sculpture
Arctic Inuit Art Gallery
Richmond, Virginia, U.S.A.
January 1989 Cold Stones, Warm Hearts: Inuit Art From the NWT
University of Richmond
Richmond, Virginia, U.S.A.
December 1990 – January 1991 A Family Tradition: Inuit Art
From Canada’s Arctic
Presented by Arctic Inuit Art at the Virginia Museum
Of Fine Arts
Richmond, Virginia, U.S.A.
November – December 1994 Small Sculptures by Great Artists III
Feheley Fine Arts
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
May – July 1995 Tundra & Ice: Exceptional Sculpture from Canada
Orca Aart Gallery
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A.
July 1995 Sunakutagnuvalautut:
Things from the Past
Feheley Fine Arts
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
March – April 1996 Major/Minor
Marion Scott Gallery
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
March – June 1996 Tundra & Ice IV
Orca Aart Gallery
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A.
November 1996 Small Sculptures by Great Artists V
Feheley Fine Arts
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
November – December 1996 New Visions
Spirit Wrestler Gallery
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
March – April 1997 Itinraire Inuit
Recontrer un peuple traverse son art
Held at the Unesco Headquarters
Sponsored by association Inuksuk L’homme debo
Paris, France
(catalogue)
November 1998 Sculpture from the Canadian Arctic
Feheley Fine Arts
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
January – February 1999 The Magic of Ohito Ashoona and Mathew Sheviakju
From Cape Dorset plus Older Prints from Private Collections: (January 15 to January 29, 1999)
The Albers Gallery of Inuit Art
San Francisco, California, U.S.A.
September – October 2002 Ohito Ashoona and Pootoogook Jaw
The Albers Gallery of Inuit Art
San Francisco, California, U.S.A.
Spring 2005 Cape Dorset Sculpture
Spirit Wrestler Gallery
Vancouver, British Columbia
(illustrated catalogue)
September – November 2005 Selections from the Lowell Schoenfeld
And Josephine Mitchell Collection of Inuit Sculpture
Carleton University Art Gallery
Ottawa, Ontario
November – December 2006 Arctic Miniatures
The Albers Gallery
San Francisco, California, U.S.A.
April – May 2008 Arctic Wind – An Expression of Naturalism
Coastal Peoples Fine Arts Gallery
Vancouver, British Columbia
October 2011 Stone and Paper
Cape Dorset 2011
Native Art Gallery
Oakville, ON
(illustrated catalogue)
January 2012 Small Treasures
Inuit Gallery of Vancouver
Vancouver, BC
May – June 2012 The Unexpected
Feheley Fine Arts
Toronto, Ontario
August – September 2012 Transformations
Galerie Vincent
Ottawa, Ontario
April — June 2013 Animal Power: Images in Contemporary Inuit Art
Marion Scott Gallery
Vancouver, British Columbia
June – July 2014 Ursa Major: The Great Bear
Inuit Gallery of Vancouver
Vancouver, BC
November 2014 – January 2015 Small Sculptures by Great Artists
Feheley Fine Arts
Toronto Ontario
January – February 2017 Small treasures
Inuit Gallery of Vancouver
Vancouver, British Columbia
February 2018 Small Treasures
Inuit Gallery of Vancouver
Vancouver, BC
February — July 2022 Ashoona: Enduring Art Stories
La Guilde
Montreal, Quebec
SOLO EXHIBITIONS:
June – July 2002 Ohito Ashoona
Canadian Arctic Gallery
Grunder
Switzerland
(illustrated brochure)
February 1989 Ohito Ashoona
Eskimo Art Gallery
Toronto, Ontario,Canada
May 1995 Ohito Ashoona
Gallery Indigena
Stratford, Ontario, Canada
June – July 2005 Ohito Ashoona
Canadian Arctic Gallery
Basel, Switzerland
May – June, 2008 Ohito Ashoona
Canadian Arctic Gallery
Basel, Switzerland
May – June, 2010 Polar Bears
Canadian Arctic Gallery
Basel, Switzerland
COLLECTIONS:
Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Canada Council Art Bank, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
University of Lethbridge Art Gallery, Lethbridge, Alberta,Canada
Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
HONOURS, ACHIEVEMENTS and EVENTS:
1989 Attended the opening of his solo exhibition at the Eskimo Art Gallery in Toronto.
1989 Received a Division Award at the Scottsdale Fine Arts and Crafts Show in Scottsdale, Arizona.
1990 Travelled to Toronto to demonstrate soapstone carving at the annual winter festival.
2002 Winner of the 2002 National Aboriginal Achievement Award; Arts and Culture.
