Padlaya Qiatsuk
Current work by this artist - click on an image for a larger photo with more details.
Padlaya Qiatsuk
Son of master carver Lukta Qiatsuq, Padlaya, was born in 1965, grew up in Cape Dorset, Nunavut and started carving at age of 12 under the tutelage of his father.
Padlaya works in soapstone, bone and serpentine, a local carving stone named
“Green Stone” by local carvers, ranging from light yellow to dark green to black.
Cape Dorset carvings are recognized for their highly naturalistic forms and dramatic compositions carved from this famous ‘green stone’. This local serpentine stone used for carving has qualities that allow the artist to carve fluid outlines, daring and delicate lines and smooth, elegant finishes.
Padlaya has a deep respect for the land, and this admiration shows in his treatment of wildlife subjects. He says that he has fun making art and he likes to carve figurative works with transformational themes being his favourites.
He said: "I like to carve transformations. That's one of my favourite themes, and shamanism… when I do transformation or shamanism carvings, I hope the younger people will see the carving in a book or in a gallery. I want them to know that these traditions have to be carried out. How do I put this? They have to know that our ancestors had a hard time to live, to hunt. Sometimes they were starving. Those carvings are important to me and I want to show these younger people, and others, that this happened before."
Padlaya continues to live in Cape Dorset, serves his community with conviction as he become
the mayor of the town.
Exhibitions
2001 Small Sculptures By Great Artists, Feheley Fine Arts, Toronto, ON
2000 Padlaya Qiatsuk: The Artist's Hand Inuit Sculpture Portfolio, Inuit Gallery of Vancouver, Vancouver, BC
2000 Seven Emerging Artists From Cape Dorset, Inuit Gallery of Vancouver, Vancouver, BC
1998 Sculpture From The Canadian Arctic, Feheley Fine Arts, Toronto, ON
1997 Singing & Dancing & Playing, Feheley Fine Arts, Toronto, ON
1997 Stone & Bonde, The Inuit Master Carvers of the Canadian Arctic, The Northwest Company, Sun Valley Centre
for the Arts and Humanities, Ketchum, ID
1996 Small Sculptures by Great Artists V, Feheley Fine Arts, Toronto, ON
1995 Miniaturen, Inuit Galerie, Mannheim, Germany
1994 The Great Northern Arts Festival, Inuvik, NU
1994 Three Young Carvers From Cape Dorset and Drawing by Aoudla Pudlat, Albers Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1993 Sculpture and Graphics from Cape Dorset, Art Space Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
1993 The Next Generation - Inuit Sculpture, Gallery Indigena, Stratford, ON
1993 The Theme of Transformation in Inuit Sculpture,The Isaacs/Innuit Gallery, Toronto, ON
1991 Granville Island Canadian Inuit Sculpture Exhibition, Vancouver Inuit Art Society, Vancouver, BC
1989 Arctic Images: Major Sculptures by Canada's Leading Contemporary Inuit Artists, D/Erlien Fine
Art Ltd, Milwaukee, WI
1989 Masters of the Arctic: An Exhibition of Contemporary Inuit Masterworks, Amway
Padlaya works in soapstone, bone and serpentine, a local carving stone named
“Green Stone” by local carvers, ranging from light yellow to dark green to black.
Cape Dorset carvings are recognized for their highly naturalistic forms and dramatic compositions carved from this famous ‘green stone’. This local serpentine stone used for carving has qualities that allow the artist to carve fluid outlines, daring and delicate lines and smooth, elegant finishes.
Padlaya has a deep respect for the land, and this admiration shows in his treatment of wildlife subjects. He says that he has fun making art and he likes to carve figurative works with transformational themes being his favourites.
He said: "I like to carve transformations. That's one of my favourite themes, and shamanism… when I do transformation or shamanism carvings, I hope the younger people will see the carving in a book or in a gallery. I want them to know that these traditions have to be carried out. How do I put this? They have to know that our ancestors had a hard time to live, to hunt. Sometimes they were starving. Those carvings are important to me and I want to show these younger people, and others, that this happened before."
Padlaya continues to live in Cape Dorset, serves his community with conviction as he become
the mayor of the town.
Exhibitions
2001 Small Sculptures By Great Artists, Feheley Fine Arts, Toronto, ON
2000 Padlaya Qiatsuk: The Artist's Hand Inuit Sculpture Portfolio, Inuit Gallery of Vancouver, Vancouver, BC
2000 Seven Emerging Artists From Cape Dorset, Inuit Gallery of Vancouver, Vancouver, BC
1998 Sculpture From The Canadian Arctic, Feheley Fine Arts, Toronto, ON
1997 Singing & Dancing & Playing, Feheley Fine Arts, Toronto, ON
1997 Stone & Bonde, The Inuit Master Carvers of the Canadian Arctic, The Northwest Company, Sun Valley Centre
for the Arts and Humanities, Ketchum, ID
1996 Small Sculptures by Great Artists V, Feheley Fine Arts, Toronto, ON
1995 Miniaturen, Inuit Galerie, Mannheim, Germany
1994 The Great Northern Arts Festival, Inuvik, NU
1994 Three Young Carvers From Cape Dorset and Drawing by Aoudla Pudlat, Albers Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1993 Sculpture and Graphics from Cape Dorset, Art Space Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
1993 The Next Generation - Inuit Sculpture, Gallery Indigena, Stratford, ON
1993 The Theme of Transformation in Inuit Sculpture,The Isaacs/Innuit Gallery, Toronto, ON
1991 Granville Island Canadian Inuit Sculpture Exhibition, Vancouver Inuit Art Society, Vancouver, BC
1989 Arctic Images: Major Sculptures by Canada's Leading Contemporary Inuit Artists, D/Erlien Fine
Art Ltd, Milwaukee, WI
1989 Masters of the Arctic: An Exhibition of Contemporary Inuit Masterworks, Amway