David Ruben Piqtoukun

Inuksuk built by David Ruben Piqtoukun in the lobby of the Embassy of Canada in Washington, D.C.

David Ruben Piqtoukun (born 1950) is an Inuit artist from Paulatuk, Northwest Territories. His output includes sculpture and prints; the sculptural work is innovative in its use of mixed media. His materials and imagery bring together modern and traditional Inuit stylistic elements in a personal vision. An example of this is his work "The Passage of Time" (1999), which portrays a shaman in the form of a salmon moving through a hole in a hand. While shamanic imagery is common in much of Inuit art, the hand in this work is sheet metal, not a traditional material such as walrus ivory, caribou antler or soapstone. Ruben's brother, Abraham Apakark Anghik Ruben, is also a sculptor. Fellow Inuit artist Floyd Kuptana learned sculpting techniques as an apprentice to David Ruben.

Honours

• 2000 - appointed to the Sculptors' Society of Canada.

See also

• Inuit Art

References

• Ada, Michigan. MASTERS OF THE ARCTIC: An Exhibition of Contemporary Inuit Masterworks. Amway Corporation, 1989
• Timeline of work; includes "The Passage of Time"
• Biography at Galerie Elca London Artist
• Profile at the Sculptors Society of Canada website

External links

• Media related to David Ruben Piqtoukun at Wikimedia Commons
• Entry on the Union List of Artist Names
• Entry on the Artist Database of the Inuit Art Foundation