George Arluk (Arlook)

Arviat, Nunavut Territory, Canada

(1949- )

 

Arluk’s late father, Sevuoi Aiyarani, was also carver. His brother, Charlie Panigoniak, is a well known singer/song-writer in the north.

Excerpt courtesy Inuit Art Section, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC), 1997.

“…Arluk began to teach himself how to carve soapstone at age 9. In the 1960s he was influenced by sculptors Tiktak and Kavik and John Pangnark. By the mid-1970s he had developed a unique style of semi-abstraction. He depicts single figures such as hunters and mothers with babies in their hoods. Most often he groups figures together to form abstracted compositions of gently curving forms that undulate rhythmically. His sculptures often have antler parts added that protrude in complex patterns from the stone.”

Darlene Wight in “The Canadian Encyclopedia”, 1985