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Abraham Anghik Ruben

The Gallery is pairing our presentation of ItuKiag?tta! with a small selection of contemporary Inuit sculpture by Abraham Anghik Ruben. This prolific artist was born in 1951 near Paulatuk in the Western Arctic. He lives and works on Salt Spring Island. During his studies at the University of Alaska’s Native Art Center in Fairbanks in 1971, Abraham was encouraged to combine traditional stories and imagery with contemporary art forms: sculpture, drawing, prints and jewellery.

Abraham’s immense pride in his heritage and its traditions is reflected in his art, which seeks to preserve and promote the history of his culture.

Like his mother, he is a storyteller, but he uses whale bone, Brazilian soapstone, bronze and wood to tell the story of his life, ancestors, parents, and elders in three dimensions.

A co-founding director with Lorne Balshine, of the Arctic Art Museum Society, which promotes the art of indigenous peoples of the Northern Artic and sub-Arctic regions, Abraham has exhibited extensively at galleries Canada-wide. He has produced several commissions for public and private buildings in Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver.