• Age: 15
• Grade: 10

Cape Dorset Sculpture is an extraordinary collection of 71 outstanding works of contemporary stone sculpture, accented with several related graphics, assembled by the Spirit Wrestler Gallery in collaboration with the West Baffin Eskimo Co-operative in Cape Dorset, Nunavut.

 

This new collection showcases the community that has had the single greatest impact on the worldwide recognition of Inuit art. Included are contemporary works by 44 leading artists, many of whom were instrumental in shaping the look and direction that Inuit art has taken over the past fifty years, plus pieces from the second- and third-generation sculptors they have inspired. Also shown are a dozen works from the early days. The introduction by Terry Ryan and text by Derek Norton and Nigel Reading provide an overview of the story of art in Cape Dorset.

Derek Norton majored in painting in the Visual Arts Program at the University of Victoria, B.C. In 1995, he, Nigel Reading and Gary Wyatt founded the Spirit Wrestler Gallery in Vancouver.

Derek Norton's profile page

Nigel Reading oversees the Inuit collection at the Spirit Wrestler Gallery, particularly exhibitions of the new generation of Inuit artists.

Nigel Reading's profile page

"This is a welcome book for lovers of the Arctic stone sculptures."

Island News

"Cape Dorset Sculpture is an extraordinary collection of 71 outstanding works of contemporary stone sculpture...[it] is an exquisite, full-colour celebration of contemporary Cape Dorset art and the wellspring of its creative evolution."

The Record

"One of the pleasures of this book is to see the work of a new generation of artists alongside the work of elder generations."

Native Arts Council

"What is consistently striking about their work...is each artist's distinctive style and insistence on giving an original twist to traditional subjects. There is a great deal of the unexpected in the works of this 'older' generation. It is marvelous, and marvelously in synch with evolving sensibilities elsewhere in the world."

Books in Canada

Cape Dorset Sculpture

The community of Cape Dorset, Nunavut has gained international recognition for its graphics and sculptures. This book showcases seventy-one works of art from four generations of Inuit artists. The collection was put together by the Spirit Wrestler Gallery in collaboration with the West Baffin Eskimo Co-operative to honour the master artists of the early days of art-making in Cape Dorset. The reproductions of the prints and sculptures are accompanied by personal stories and insights on the artist’s work. Themes of Arctic wildlife; life in the igloo, community and on the land; and the spiritual life of the Inuit are represented in these sculptures. The introduction discusses the evolution of the different art forms and the artistic community of Cape Dorset. Includes biographical notes on the artists.