Ingo Hessel
Ingo D. W. Hessel (born 1955) is a Canadian art historian and curator specializing in Inuit Art. The author of Inuit Art: An Introduction, Hessel has curated exhibitions for the Heard Museum in Phoenix, Arizona, the Museum of Inuit Art in Toronto, and the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto.
Life and career
Hessel was born in Ottawa, Ontario, in 1955.[1] He received a BA in Art History from Carleton University in 1977.
In 1983 Hessel began working in the field of Inuit art at the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs, Ottawa.[2] As Special Projects Officer and Coordinator at the Canadian Inuit Art Information Centre from 1984 until 1998, he travelled throughout the north to work with Inuit artists and artist cooperatives. During this period he wrote Canadian Inuit Sculpture (1991) and curated Arviat Stone Sculpture (1990-1) for the McMichael Canadian Art Collection and Stories in Stone (1997) in Seoul, South Korea.[1] In 1998 his book, Inuit Art: An Introduction was published by the British Museum, London.
In 2006, Hessel was appointed the Albrecht Adjunct Curator of Inuit Art at the Heard Museum in Phoenix, Arizona.[3] There he curated the exhibition Arctic Spirit: Inuit Art from the Albrecht Collection at the Heard Museum[4] which travelled to the Anchorage Museum, the Mashantucket Pequot Museum, and the Louisiana Art and Science Museum. In 2008 Hessel was appointed Curator of the Museum of Inuit Art in Toronto, where he organized the exhibition New Directions in Cape Dorset Drawing as well as retrospective expositions on artists James Archibald Houston and Kananginak Pootoogook.[1]
During the same period, he was guest curator for the exhibition Sanattiaqsimajut: Inuit Art from the Carleton University Art Gallery Collection (2009),[5] and at the Art Gallery of Ontario where he co-curated Inuit Modern: Inuit Art from the Samuel and Esther Sarick Collection (2011) with Gerald McMaster.[6] In 2013, he was a symposium speaker and contributor to the Inuit Art exhibition at the Winnipeg Art Gallery.[7] Cited as an authority in his field,[8] Hessel authored the chapter on Inuit Art in The Visual Arts in Canada: The Twentieth Century in 2010.[9] He has also been an Art History lecturer at the University of Ottawa (1992, 1994) and at Carlton University (2008, 2009).[1] In 2011 he was appointed Head, Inuit Art Department, at Walker's Auctions in Ottawa.[1][10]
Hessel is also known as a sculptor and painter, and has exhibited in Canada in Toronto and Ottawa, and in Japan in Kyoto and Nagoya.[1][11] Frequently visiting the Arctic during his career,[12] his role in introducing new medias to northern communities was acknowledged at The Festive North (2005) exhibition at the McMichael Canadian Art Collection.[13] He is a director of the board of directors of the Nunavut-based Inuit Art Quarterlysince 2012.[14]
Select publications
- Contributor Creation and Transformation: Defining Moments in Inuit Art. Ed. Darlene Wight. Winnipeg Art Gallery: 2012. Print. ISBN 9781926812892
- Author "A Culture in Transition: Inuit Art in the Twentieth Century" in The Visual Arts in Canada: The Twentieth Century. Ed. Anne Whitelaw, Brian Foss and Sandra Paikowsky. Oxford University Press (Canada), 2010. Print. ISBN 9780195421255[9]
- Contributor/curator Sanattiaqsimajut: Inuit Art from the Carleton University Art Gallery Collection Ottawa: Carleton University Art Gallery, 2009. Print. ISBN 9780770905330 2010 Ontario Association of Art Galleries: Special recognition art publication of the year, and 2009 American Association of Museum Publications Design Competition: First place exhibition catalogue design.[5]
- Contributor/co-curator Inuit Modern: Art from the Samuel and Esther Sarick Collection. Ed. Gerald McMaster. Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre / Ontario Art Gallery, 2009. Print. ISBN 0770905331. 2011 Melva J. Dwyer Award.[15]
- Author/curator Arctic Spirit, Creation and Transformation. Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre, 2006. Print. ISBN 1553651898
- Author Inuit Art: In Introduction. London: British Museum Press, 1998. Print. ISBN 9780714125459 (Canadian edition ISBN 1550548298 and US edition ISBN 0810934760)
- Co-author Visions of Power: Contemporary Art by First Nations, Inuit and Japanese Canadians. Toronto: Earth Spirit Festival, 1991. Print. ISBN 0969526806
References
- Third Sector Publishing. Canadian Who’s Who 2012–2013. University of Toronto Press. 2012. Web.
- Douglas & McIntyre, "Ingo Hessel" Archived 2013-08-02 at Archive.today Web.
- Heard Museum Arctic Spirit: Inuit Art from the Albrecht Collection Web.
- Nilsen, Richard. “Spirit' a joyful exhibit of Inuit art”, Arizonia Republic. Phoenix: 14 Feb. 2010. Web.
- Caleton University Art Gallery Web.
- Adams, James. "Modern Inuit art: Beyond tradition – and the tourist shops”, The Globe and Mail. Toronto: 8 Apr. 2011. Web.
- Winnipeg Art Gallery 2013. Web.
- National Gallery of Canada Web.
- Oxford University Press Canada Web.
- Levin, Mike. "A Museum of Inuit Art – For Sale", The Unfolding. Ottawa: Nov. 2011. Web.
- Levin, Mike. “Ingo Hessel: Back On The Verge Of Discovery”. The Unfolding. Ottawa: Apr. 2010. Web.
- Rogers, Sarah. "Toronto’s trove of Inuit art spans centuries" Nunatsiaq Online. Nunavut: 29 Jul. 2010. Web.
- McMichael Canadian Art Collection The Festive North. Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine Web.
- Inuit Art Foundation Board of Drectors. Web.
- Douglas & McIntyre Web.