2013 Happy by late Jutai Toonoo (1959-2015)

Inuit art: Happy
Size: 44x30" (111.5 x 76 cm)
Community: Cape Dorset
Medium: oil on paper
Inuit Artist: Jutai Toonoo (1959-2015) 
id: dfa-189-0387cbjjy

Note** This is not a print. This is an original one of a kind drawing.

This is an original drawing created by Jutai Toonoo in 2013. (This a not a limited edition print, it is an original oil on paper drawing, only one was made by Jutai).

The coloration, subject matter, and texture of this drawing has resonated itself into a lasting image of memory. I made the assertion that these two drawings must be hung in our studio immediately.

This image exemplifies both Toonoos’s sense of being and the demons he struggled with on an everyday basis. 

Jutai Toonoo (1959 - 2015 )

Community: Cape Dorset

Jutai was an illustrator, printmaker and sculptor. 

Jutai was born in an igloo on December 05,1959 just outside Cape Dorset.

Jutai Toonoo is a son of Inuit artists Sheojuk and Toonoo. He, along with his siblings—renowned sculptors Oviloo Tunnillie and Samonie Toonoo - learned to carve at a young age from his father and began his artistic career in the 1990s, beginning with sculpting and moving towards drawing and printmaking. Jutai became known for a bold art style that was representative of his emotional process. His works are dark and humorous, often focusing on religious themes or the social issues that concerned him within his community. 

Collections: National Gallery of Canada, Art Gallery of Ontario, McMichael Collection