Lot 2: A Davie Atchealak carved stone sculpture

Davie Atchealak
Inuit, Iqaluit/Frobisher Bay, (1947-2006), depicting an emergence figure/shaman, carved stone, signed. height 14in, width 14 1/2in

Davie Atchealak is best known for his sculptures of dancing bears and exuberant drummers; in Arctic Spirit, Inuit Art from the Albrecht Collection at the Heard Museum, Heard Museum, Phoenix, AZ, 2006, Ingo Hessel writes: "There is a certain macho aesthetic among male sculptors on southern Baffin Island; Atchealak [was] probably its most zealous practitioner. His drummers are not simply energetic, they are heroic figures sculpted sculpted to exaggerate musculature and emotion... about virility and dramatic performance." While the present example still features exaggerated proportions, it serves as a sort of energetic antithesis to Atchealak's more frenetic work. The shaman is well-balanced, physically rooted with both feet flat on the ground, while his expression evokes serene bemusement.