Faces & Heads: Sculptures from the Brian P. Wilson Collection

Marion Scott Gallery is pleased to present the final instalment in our series of exhibitions featuring works from the collection of Brian P. Wilson. Comprising 14 sculptures made in various media, Faces & Heads: Sculptures from the Brian P. Wilson Collection showcases some of the many different ways Inuit artists have represented the human visage, a subject as old as Arctic art itself. Featuring examples by some of Inuit art’s best-known artists, the exhibition reveals the diversity within this modern form even as the works themselves often evoke the past.

The human face or head has been a common subject in Inuit art throughout the modern period. Building on an artistic tradition that dates back to pre-historic times, these works range widely in style, from images with simplified renderings of facial features to highly detailed naturalistic portraits. While universally applicable generalizations about this work are difficult to make, many of these images convey something essential about the subjects they portray, allowing them to express a range of ideas about the human condition and identity.