Koomuatuk Curley

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Koomuatuk Curley

B. 1984
Kinngait, Nunavut

Koomuatuk (Kuzy) Curley is a sculptor, director and videographer from Kinngait, NU. Curley learned to carve from his grandparents during the summers he spent as a child at their outpost camp near Kinngait and began to carve professionally while in junior high school, becoming the third generation carver of his family. In 2014 Curley directed his film "Kiawak Ashoona" and has exhibited his work across Canada including being featured in iNuit Blanche in 2016, St. John’s, NL. Curley has written for and appeared in the "Inuit Art Quarterly" as well as many other publications.

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Johnny Inukpuk

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Johnny Inukpuk

B. 1911 - 2007
Inoucdjouac, Québec

Johnny Inukpuk began carving in the early 1950's and his sculptures reflected both the austere and loving realities of life. 

His work received recognition as part of an exhibition of Inuit art known as The Coronation Exhibition held at Gimpel Fils in London, England in 1953. 

In 1978, Inukpuk was made a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Fine Arts. A prolific artist, he was still carving well into his later years. 

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Osuitok Ipeelee

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Osuitok Ipeelee

B. 1922 - 2005
Neeouleeutalik Camp, NT

Osuitok Ipeelee was an artist originally from the Neeouleeutalik Camp. He first learned to carve by watching his father Ohotok and then by experimenting in his teens with carving wood and other found materials. Ipeelee moved to Kinngait (Cape Dorset), NU, where he became instrumental in the print and carving programs in the community, creating depictions of Arctic animals as well as humans engaged in traditional activities. Caribou were among his preferred subject matter, crafting their elegant bodies from stone and antler, such as his work Standing Caribou (1985). In 1955, along with Peter Pitseolak, Ipeelee directed a team of craftsmen to carve the official mace for the Council of the Northwest Territories. In 1959, he was also commissioned to create a sculpture of Queen Elizabeth II, which was presented to her upon her visit to Canada that same year.

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Toona Iqalik (Iquliq)

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Toona Iqalik (Iquliq)

1935-2015
Baker Lake, Nunavut Territory

Toona Iqalik was born in 1935 near Baker Lake, where he lived and worked for most of his career.  With over 40 years of experience carving, he is most recognized for his rounded abstract carvings of people.  However, figures such as muskox, birds and bears were also characteristic. His children, Johnny, Louie and Camill are also well known carvers.  Since the 1960s, Toona has had numerous exhibitions across North America and the United States as well as in Europe and England.

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Mattiusi Iyaituk

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Mattiusi Iyaituk

Mattiusi Iyaituk is internationally recognized for his unique contemporary approach to carving. Often using multiple materials such as stone, ivory, bone and hair, his carvings are rooted in traditional motifs but expressed through a contemporary lens.

His works are found in many important public collections including the National Gallery of Canada, Art Gallery of Ontario and the Winnipeg Art Gallery.

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Andy Miki

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Andy Miki

Andy Miki

1918 - 1983

Arviat

Andy Miki's stylized minimal carvings of wildlife are internationally recognized as leading works that helped establish the regional aesthetic of Arviat. Miki, alongside other Arviat artists such as John Pangnark and Lucy Tasseor have influenced the following generations of carvers and made significant and lasting contributions to Canadian Art.

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Kakee Ningeosiaq

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Kakee Ningeosiaq

 

Originally from Iqaluit, Kakee moved to Cape Dorset in 1993. He began carving at the age of 16 and although he is self-taught, he also learned by watching other carvers, which included His father, Ningeosiak Peter, and his mother, Parnee Peter. Kakee’s grandfather, the late Jamasie Teevee was a well-known graphic artist.

He is also known as Ningeeochiak, Peter

Exhibitions
1991   Inuit Music in Art: Singing & Dancing & Playing, Feheley Fine Arts, Toronto, ON
1995   Miniaturen, Inuit Galerie, Mannheim, Germany, (brochure)
1997   Stone & Bone, The Inuit Master Carvers of the Canadian Arctic, The North West Company, Sun Valley Center for the Arts &          Humanities Ketchum, ID
2010   Arctic Wind III: An Expression of Survival, Coastal Peoples Gallery, Vancouver, BC, (illustrated brochure)
2012   Small Treasures, Inuit Gallery of Vancouver, Vancouver, BC

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Andrew Palongayak

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Andrew Palongayak

B. 1946
Gjoa Haven

Andrew Palongayak is a stone and mixed-media sculptor from Gjoa Haven, Nunavut Territory. His wife, Ann Palongayak, and her brother, Ralph Porter, are also artists. Andy carves both animal and human figures, frequently depicting shamans and associated spirits. His carving evokes a sense of considerable strength and solidity.

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Markoosie Papigatok

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Markoosie Papigatok

B: 1976
Puvirnituq, QC

Markoosie Papigatok is a well recognized carver based in Kinngait, Nunavut. Papigatok was born in Puvirnituq Nunavuk, Quebec. He learned carving by observing those around him, including his grandfather, Qavaroak Tunnillie, and uncle, Ashevak Tunnillie.

Papigatok’s sculptures have been included in exhibitions throughout Europe, Canada, and the United States. His work is continuously featured in the Canadian Art Gallery in Basel, Switzerland, and can be found in the public collections of the Musee d’art Inuit Brousseau in Quebec City, QC, and the Canada Council Art Bank in Ottawa, ON, among others.

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Timothy Pee

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Timothy Pee

Timothy (Tim) Pee has been creating art since he was 15 years old and learned to carve from his family members, which include artists Kananginak Pootoogook, Johnny Pootoogook, and Ashevak Adla. His subject matter of choice to carve is the polar bear. These sculptures have gained Pee significant recognition in recent years and have helped establish him as one of the most skilled carvers on Baffin Island.

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Palaya Qiatsuq

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Palaya Qiatsuq

B. 1965
Cape Dorset

Palaya learned how to carve the traditional way - by watching his father. He carved his first two pieces at the age of 12, a bird and a bear. For the past 20 years Palaya has been carving and keeping traditioal stories alive through his work. Stories of transformation and shmanism from his childhood are among Palaya's favourite themes. 

Although Palaya views himself as an artist above all else, he is also a "traditionalist with a mission." 

"I also see my mission as edicating and teaching others about my culture. Any opportunity I have to travel and give demonstrations and workshops helps contribute to others' apreciation of our art forms." - Palaya Qiatsuq

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Pauta Saila

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Pauta Saila

Kinngait, NU

1916 - 2009

An innovative carver known especially for developing the dancing bear sculptures, Pauta Saila remains one of the most recognized Inuit carvers to date. Born in Kilaparutua camp on Baffin Island in 1916, Saila learned by watching his father to live on the land as well as how to carve. He remained a hunter throughout his life, and focused his artistic endeavours solely to carving in 1981. Saila also drew images of arctic wildlife and his work was featured in the Cape Dorset Annual Print Collection from 1962-1981. He was elected to the Royal Academy of Arts in 2003.

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Daniel Shimout

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Daniel Shimout

1972 - 2022
Salliq, NU

Daniel Shimout is an artist based in Salliq (Coral Harbour), NU, where he was born and raised. He has been carving since his teenage years, following in the footsteps of many artists in his family.

Daniel Shimout grew up watching his father, Anakudlak Shimout, carve and learned about the different tools and techniques he used, which influences some of the processes Shimout uses today. Shimout started carving at the young age of 16 and has been carving for over 25 years now.

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Tommy Takpanie Jr.

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Tommy Takpanie Jr.

Iqaluit, NU

Tommy Takpanie Jr. is a full-time carver from Iqaluit, NU, who is known for his polar bear sculptures. Tommy Sr., his father, is also a carver, as are Tommy Jr.’s siblings Pauloosie, Jamasee, Jackie and Mary.

Takpanie’s father is also known for his polar bears, although he usually depicts them dancing, where Takpanie Jr. shows them in realistic motion. His work has been exhibited nationally and internationally.

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Toonoo Sharky RCA

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Toonoo Sharky RCA

Toonoo’s parents, Josephee Sharky and Ragee Killiktee, were both carvers, though he credits his grandfather Kuppapik Ragee and his uncle Shorty Killiktee as influences. Toonoo started carving at age ten, began to get serious at thirteen and first exhibited when he was just seventeen. He is regarded as one of the most exciting young carvers to emerge in the Arctic. His themes include dramatic treatments of wildlife, particularly birds, and transformational works that are both powerful and humorous. Recent sculptures feature inlays of different coloured stone and ivory for eyes and other details. 

 

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Oviloo Tunnillie R.C.A.

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Oviloo Tunnillie R.C.A.

B. 1949-2014

Cape Dorset, Nunavut Territory

Oviloo Tunnillie is the daughter of two artists, Sheojuk and Toonoo Tunnillie. From watching her father carve, she developed an early interest in the practice and completed her first sculpture in 1965. She is one of the only Inuit artists to choose nudes as her subject matter. 

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