Floyd Kuptana is an Inuit

Inuit

The Inuit are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic regions of Canada , Denmark , Russia and the United States . Inuit means “the people” in the Inuktitut language...

 sculptor born in the former settlement at Cape Parry

Cape Parry

Cape Parry is a headland in Canada's Northwest Territories. Located at the northern tip of the Parry Peninsula, it projects into Amundsen Gulf, from the North Pole. The nearest settlement is Paulatuk, to the south, and Fiji Island is located to the west...

 and moved to nearby Paulatuk, Northwest Territories

Northwest Territories

The Northwest Territories is a federal territory of Canada.Located in northern Canada, the territory borders Canada's two other territories, Yukon to the west and Nunavut to the east, and three provinces: British Columbia to the southwest, and Alberta and Saskatchewan to the south...

, Canada. He began his career as an apprentice to fellow sculptor David Ruben Piqtoukun

David Ruben Piqtoukun

David Ruben Piqtoukun 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...

. He has produced his own work since leaving the apprenticeship in 1992, and now resides in Toronto

Toronto

Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

. His sculptures of soapstone

Soapstone

Soapstone is a metamorphic rock, a talc-schist. It is largely composed of the mineral talc and is thus rich in magnesium. It is produced by dynamothermal metamorphism and metasomatism, which occurs in the areas where tectonic plates are subducted, changing rocks by heat and pressure, with influx...

, serpentine, alabaster

Alabaster

Alabaster is a name applied to varieties of two distinct minerals, when used as a material: gypsum and calcite . The former is the alabaster of the present day; generally, the latter is the alabaster of the ancients...

 and other stone are noted for their imagery of transformation between animal and human. The artist's work relates both to the shamanic beliefs of the Inuit, and his own experiences.

Exhibitions

"Inuit Sculpture Now" at the National Gallery of Canada

National Gallery of Canada

The National Gallery of Canada , located in the capital city Ottawa, Ontario, is one of Canada's premier art galleries.The Gallery is now housed in a glass and granite building on Sussex Drive with a notable view of the Canadian Parliament buildings on Parliament Hill. The acclaimed structure was...

, 30 June - 18 November 2007

"sculpted from stone and spirit" at Gallery Arcturus, 27 September - 12 November 2011

External links

Select work at Maslak McLeod Gallery, Toronto, Canada

Images of work at photographic website dragonwhistle.ca