KUMAKULUK SAGGIAK (b. 1944)

Born in 1944 in Salluit, Nunavik, QC, Kumakuluk Saggiak moved several times before settling in Kinngait (Cape Dorset), Nunavut. His green and blackstone sculptures are representative of the region’s materials, though his creations are unique in style. Saggiak’s dramatic animals with their graceful curvatures suggest future movement and flight.

A prolific exhibitor throughout his career, Saggiak’s work has appeared at the Lippel Gallery (1965) in Montreal, Quebec, the National Gallery of Canada (1967) in Ottawa, Ontario, and across the United States as part of the Smithsonian Institution’s touring Inuit sculpture show (1979–1981). Saggiak was also the recipient of several high-profile commissions. His work was introduced to international audiences when he was invited, along with Elijah Pootoogook, to produce a mural in Montreal depicting life in the North for the 1967 International and Universal Exposition, commonly known as Expo 67. In 1980, Saggiak was asked by Public Works Canada to develop low-relief carving designs for the Parliament buildings in Ottawa. Saggiak is represented in several private and institutional collections including at the Winnipeg Art Gallery in Manitoba and the TD Corporate Art Collection.

Source: Inuit Art Foundation