Joe Adlaka Aculiak Art for Sale at Auction

b. 1936 -

JOE ADLAKA ACULIAK (ADLIKIT; ADLAKIT)
Born: November 12, 1936 Male E9-1595
Resides: Inukjuak
Sculpture
Joe Adlaka Aculiak was born on November 12, 1936 at Echalook's camp. A
lively and jovial man, Joe currently lives in Inukjuak with his mother Lucy -
the widow of artist Josephie Aculiak. Joe has five younger brothers, all of
whom he has taught to carve.
"Joe is a prolific carver, most of whose works represent people." (1)
However, a number of exquisite, detailed carvings of birds, bears and
especially fish indicate that this artist is equally at home with animals as
subject matter. Jean Blodgett describes one of Joe's walrus carvings as
"...not a heroic or momentous subject, but it is a true-to-life
representation." (2) She also notes that "Even on this small scale, the
overall shape, the supportive position of the flippers, and the folds of fat
at the neck, suggest the weight and bulk of a life-size walrus." (3) In fact,
Joe's sculptures in general are small in scale and unassuming, but full of
character. Even his later works are reminiscent of Inukjuak carvings of the
1950s.
Although Joe usually restricts his decorative surface incisions to
certain areas such as repeated rows of small dots along the sides of a fish,
or groupings of parallel lines to indicate fins or tail feathers, on occasion
he will allow his surface decoration to become elaborate.

1 Barry Roberts, THE INUIT ARTISTS OF INOUCDJOUAC, P.Q., (Montreal: FCNQ
and the Department of Indian & Northern Affairs, 1978), p. 309.
2 Jean Blodgett, GRASP TIGHT THE OLD WAYS: SELECTIONS FROM THE KLAMER
FAMILY COLLECTION OF INUIT ART. (Toronto: Art Gallery of Ontario, 1983),
p.172.
3 Ibid.

EXHIBITIONS:
1967 Eskimo Sculpture
Winnipeg Art Gallery
presented at the Manitoba Legislative
Building
Winnipeg, Manitoba
(illustrated catalogue)
1971 - 1973 Sculpture/Inuit: Masterworks of the
Canadian Arctic
Canadian Eskimo Arts Council
Ottawa, Ontario
(tour)
(illustrated catalogue)

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JOE ADLAKA ACULIAK (continued)
EXHIBITIONS: (continued)

November 1976 - January 1977 Port Harrison/Inoucdjouac
Winnipeg Art Gallery
Winnipeg, Manitoba
(illustrated catalogue)
October 1979 Sculpture of the Inuit: Masterwork
Exhibitors of the Canadian Arctic
Inuit Gallery of Vancouver
Vancouver, British Columbia
(illustrated catalogue)
May 1983 - April 1985 Grasp Tight the Old Ways: Selections from
the Klamer Family Collection of Inuit Art
Art Gallery of Ontario
Toronto, Ontario
(tour)
(illustrated catalogue)
December 1983 Artists of Arctic Quebec
Inuit Gallery of Vancouver
Vancouver, British Columbia
(illustrated catalogue)
March - May 1985 Uumajut: Animal Imagery in Inuit Art
Winnipeg Art Gallery
Winnipeg, Manitoba
(illustrated catalogue)
December 1985 Masterwork Sculpture 1985
Inuit Gallery of Vancouver
Vancouver, British Columbia
(illustrated catalogue)
July 1986 - February 1988 Selections from the John and Mary Robertson
Collection of Inuit Art
Agnes Etherington Art Centre
Queen's University
Kingston, Ontario
(tour)
(illustrated catalogue)

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JOE ADLAKA ACULIAK (continued)
EXHIBITIONS: (continued)

October 1986 Masterwork Sculpture 1986
Inuit Gallery of Vancouver
Vancouver, British Columbia
(illustrated catalogue)
May - June 1987 [Inuit Art Exhibition]
Whitby Arts Incorporated,
The Station Gallery
Whitby, Ontario
July - August 1987 Exposition Sculptures d'Arctique
Hotel d'Asfeld
St. Malo, France
December 1987 - January 1988 The Art of the Eskimo
Newman Galleries
Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.
November - December 1995 Miniaturen
Inuit Galerie
Mannheim, Germany
(brochure)
COLLECTIONS:
Art Gallery of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario
Avataq Cultural Institute, Montreal, Quebec
Dennos Museum Center, Northwestern Michigan College, Traverse City, Michigan, U.S.A.
Klamer Family Collection, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Ontario
Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba
HONOURS, ACHIEVEMENTS and EVENTS:
1972 Travelled to Copenhagen to attend the opening of the Sculpture/Inuit
exhibition at the National Museum, Copenhagen, Denmark.

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JOE ADLAKA ACULIAK (continued)
SELECTED REFERENCES:
Blodgett, Jean
GRASP TIGHT THE OLD WAYS: Selections from the Klamer Family
Collection of Inuit Art. Toronto: Art Gallery of Ontario, 1983.
Canadian Eskimo Arts Council
SCULPTURE/INUIT: Sculpture of the Inuit: masterworks of the
Canadian Arctic = La sculpture chez les Inuit: chefs-d'oeuvre de
l'Arctique canadien. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
London: Aidan Ellis Publishing, 1971.
Driscoll, Bernadette
UUMAJUT: Animal Imagery in Inuit art. Winnipeg: Winnipeg Art
Gallery, 1985.
Gillmore, Alison
UUMAJUT: Animal Imagery in Inuit Art. Arts Manitoba, vol. 4,
no. 3, Summer, 1985. pp.20-23.
Gunn, Barry
TWO INUIT ARTISTS IN COPENHAGEN. Inuttituut, Autumn:36-40, 1972.
Inuit Gallery of Vancouver
MASTERWORKS; SCULPTURE. Vancouver, B.C. : Inuit Gallery of
Vancouver, 1986.
Inuit Gallery of Vancouver
SCULPTURE OF THE INUIT: Masterwork Exhibitors of the Canadian
Arctic. Vancouver: Inuit Gallery, 1979.
Roberts, A. Barry
THE INUIT ARTISTS OF INOUCDJOUAC, P.Q: Historical and
Biographical Information for the Viewers and Collectors of
Eskimo Art. Montreal: La Federation des Co-operatives du Noveau
Quebec with the co-operation of the Department of Indian and
Northern Affairs, 1978.
Swinton, George
SCULPTURE OF THE ESKIMO. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1972.