Family is a masterpiece of Tasseor’s later classic style of the late 1970s and early 1980s, a period during which the artist had firmly “let go” of the idea of any literal representation of the human figure. It beautifully exemplifies the idea we put forth in our essay for the I Turn to Stone exhibition of 2015: “One could argue that in a sense, some of Tasseor’s so-called “abstraction” was conceptual; she was interested in representing the idea of family, maternity, community and Inuit identity in her art rather than carving straightforward depictions” (pp. 3-5). Family is both rugged and supremely refined; the subtle yet powerful outward push of the various faces—in apparently random directions—is particularly poignant and evocative.

References: For other fine examples of Tasseor’s work from c. 1975-80, see Norman Zepp, Pure Vision (Norman Mackenzie Art Gallery, 1986), cats. 39-41; and Bernadette Driscoll, Eskimo Point/Arviat (WAG, 1982), cat. 79.

Lot 10