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Johnny Aculiak

JOHNNY ACULIAK (ALAKARIALOOK; JOHNIAHL; AQULIAK; JOANNIE; JOANIE; JUANIE)

Born: May 18, 1951 Male E9-1958

Resides: Inukjuak; also lived in Umiujaq, Povungnituk

Sculpture, Prints, Printmaking, Jewellery

Johnny Aculiak was born in on one of the Hopewell Islands, just north of Inukjuak. He has lived in other communities, but moved back to Inukjuak in 1993. Although he is best known for his carvings, Johnny has also tried drawing and jewellery making. Johnny learned to carve on his own in 1968 and has since worked with materials such as stone, antler, ivory and whale bone. Johnny, however, prefers working with soapstone and one of his favourite subjects to carve depicts an Inuk hunting game; he feels it is important others learn about his people and their culture. His work his highly polished with great attention to details such as facial expressions and hunting tools that he includes with hunting scenes.

EXHIBITIONS:

· Arctic Quebec Print Collection (annual collection) (illustrated catalogue)

· 1973, 1974 - Arctic Quebec Print Collection II (annual collection) (illustrated catalogue)

· December 1977 - February 1978 - Povungnituk Winnipeg Art Gallery Winnipeg, Manitoba (illustrated catalogue)

· September 1980 - February 1981 - Things Made by Inuit La Federation des Cooperatives du Nouveau-Quebec Montreal, Quebec (tour) (illustrated catalogue)

· December 1987 - January 1988 - The Art of the Eskimo Newman Galleries Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.

· 1988 - 1990 - Stories in Stone: Soapstone Sculptures Northern Quebec and Kenya La Federation des Cooperatives du Nouveau-Quebec Montreal, Quebec (tour) (illustrated catalogue)

· March 1988 - Arctic Forms - Inuit Sculpture, Arctic Inuit Art Gallery Richmond, Virginia, U.S.A.

· November 1993 - March 1994 - The Inuit Imagination Winnipeg Art Gallery Winnipeg, Manitoba

· November - December 1995 - Miniaturen Inuit Galerie Mannheim, Germany (brochure)

EXHIBITIONS continued:

· December 1995 - Images from the Arctic Galerie D'Art Vincent Ottawa, Ontario

· January - February 1996 - Not Just a Dancing Step. . . Galerie D'Art Vincent Ottawa, Ontario (illustrated catalogue)

· March - April 1996 - Major /Minor Marion Scott Gallery Vancouver, Bri t ish Columbia

· March 1997 - Inuit and the Sea Canuit Canadian Eskimo Art Eindhoven, Netherlands

· March - April 1997 - itinraire inuit rencontrer un peuple travers son art held at Unesco headquarters sponsored by association Inuksuk L' homme debo Paris, France (catalogue)

· 1997 - Artists of Nunavik Inuit and Indian Art Gallery Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development Hull, Quebec, Canada

· September - October 2001 - Older Sculpture from Private collectors 111. Albers Gallery of Inuit Art San Francisco, USA

COLLECTIONS:

Canadian Museum of Civilization, Hull, Quebec National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba

HONOURS, ACHIEVEMENTS and EVENTS

1987 - Visited Russia in September when the exhibition 'Things Made by Inuit' was presented in Nobosibirsk, Siberia.

SELECTED REFERENCES:

Eisemon, Thomas Owen

STORIES IN STONE = LA PIERRE RACONTE: Soapstone Sculptures from Northern Quebec and Kenya = Sculptures de steatite du Nouveau-Quebec et du Kenya. Ottawa: La Federation des Cooperatives du Nouveau-Quebec and The Canadian Museum of Civilization, 1988.

Federation des Cooperatives du Nouveau-Quebec

FINE ARTS AND CRAFTS FROM NOUVEAU QUEBEC. Montreal: La Federation des Cooperatives du Nouveau-Quebec, 1988.

SELECTED REFERENCES continued:

Le blond, Jean-Claude

UN CONTEXT CULTUREL DIFFERENT. vie des Arts, Sommaire 137, Decembre 1989/Hiver, pp. 32-35.

Noel, Michel

NUNAVIMIUT: ART INUIT = INUIT ART. Pointe-Claire, Quebec: Roussan en collaboration avec l' Institut cultural AVATAQ, 1992 (Collection LE TAMBOUR) .

Seidelman, Harold and James Turner THE INUIT IMAGINATION: Arctic Myth and Sculpture. Vancouver/Toronto: Douglas & McIntyre, 1993.

Winnipeg Art Gallery POVUNGNITUK Winnipeg: The Winnipeg Art Gallery, 1977.