PETER BOY ITUKALLA (QUMALU; ITUKUDLUK; PETER QUMALUK; ITTUKALLA;
ITUKALA; QUMALUK)
Born: January 14, 1954 Male E9-2116
Resides: Puvirnituq
Prints, Sculpture
Peter Qumaluk Itukalla or "Peter-Boy", as he is sometimes called, was
born on January 14, 1954 at his parent's winter camp on the outskirts of
Puvirnituq. At present, he lives in Puvirnituq with his wife Winnie, and
their two children. Peter and his older brother Juanisi, are the nephews of
the well-known carvers Levi and Inukpuk Qumaluk. His sister is Maggie
Ittukallak. Born into such a talented family, which also includes both the
late Joe Talirunili, and Davidialuk Alasua Amittu, it is not surprising that
Peter became a carver. Although his father, Aisa Aviliaju Itukalla began
carving in the early 1950s it was really his grandfather, Pauloosie Oolutaju
Itukadluk, who encouraged Peter to carve as a boy of eight years old.
Today Peter maintains an extremely active lifestyle, which includes
hunting and trapping, with either his skidoo or dogsled, volunteer work with
community sports programs, and artistic production both in prints and
carvings. In May 1976, Peter experienced culture shock for the first time
when he attended, and participated in, a southern arts and crafts show held in
Willowdale, Ontario.
Peter's carvings are remarkable for their animated style. His renderings
of human figures and animals are alive with tension and movement that is not
simply implied, but fully realized in dramatic poses: a bear digs his claws
into the soft underbelly of a walrus, a hungry child clutches at a chunk of
meat held out to it by its mother. Occasionally Peter enhances the
vulnerability of the figures by depicting them naked; frequently, their
theatrical sense of drama stems from the single gesture of an extended hand or
a menacing paw.
EXHIBITIONS:
1980 A Taste of Arctic Quebec
Marion Scott Gallery
Vancouver, British Columbia
1983, 1987 Povungnituk Print Collection
(annual collection)
(illustrated catalogue)
June 1983 An Enduring Tradition: Inuit Carving from
Arctic Quebec
Inuit Gallery of Vancouver
Vancouver, British Columbia
(illustrated catalogue)
December 1983 Artists of Arctic Quebec
Inuit Gallery of Vancouver
Vancouver, British Columbia
(illustrated catalogue)
March - April 1984 Heritage of the Inuit: Masterpieces
of the Eskimo
Colorado Galleries of the Arts,
Arapahoe Community College
Littleton, Colorado, U.S.A.
July 1984 Treasures from Canada's Arctic
Heritage Place
Uxbridge, Ontario
October 1984 Images of the Far North
Studio Art Gallery,
State University of New York
Binghamton, New York, U.S.A.
October 1984 Inuit Art from Arctic Quebec
La Federation des Cooperatives du
Nouveau-Quebec
presented at the Canada Trade Centre
Tokyo, Japan
December 1984 Takamit - Canadian Eskimo Art: Selections
from Private Collections and the Government
of Canada
Organized by La Federation des Cooperatives
du Nouveau-Quebec and the Jane Voorhees
Zimmerli Art Museum, Rutgers University
New Brunswick, New Jersey, U.S.A.
(illustrated brochure)
June 1989 Masters of the Arctic: An Exhibition
of Contemporary Inuit Masterworks
Presented by the Amway Corporation
at the United Nations General Assembly
New York, New York, U.S.A.
(tour)
(illustrated catalogue)
Nov 1990 - Feb 1991 Espaces Inuit
Maison Hamel-Bruneau
Ste-Foy, Quebec
(illustrated catalogue)
1993 - 1993 Arts from the Arctic
Anchorage Museum of History and Art
Anchorage, Alaska
(tour)
(illustrated catalogue)
SOLO EXHIBITIONS:
1982 Peter Qumaluk Itukalla
Quebec House
New York, New York, U.S.A.
October - Nov 1984 Peter Qumaluk Itukalla
Gallery Phillip
Don Mills, Ontario
COLLECTIONS:
Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Ontario
Canadian Museum of Civilization, Hull, Quebec
Museum of Anthropology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia
Saputik Museum, Povungnituk, Quebec
HONOURS, ACHIEVEMENTS and EVENTS:
1976 Invited to participate in a Canadian Art and Craft Show at the Fairview Mall,
Willowdale, Ontario.
1988 With Juanisi Itukalla and Paulusie Novalinga, won first prize for a Quebec
sculpture in the International Sculpture Competition held at Quebec's Winter
Carnival in February.
1989 Was one of the Canadian representatives at the Ainu Cultural Society in
Shraoi Hokaido (near Sapporo), Japan.
1990 Peter Boy's team won the Popular Prize in the National Snow Sculpture
Competition at the Carneval de Quebec.
SELECTED REFERENCES:
INUIT SCULPTOR IS OVERWHELMED BY CROWDS DURING ARTS SHOW. The
Mirror, May 26, 1976.
Ingram, Jan
ARTS FROM THE ARCTIC; A CELEBRATORY EXHIBITION: At the
Anchorage Museum of History and Art until September 19, 1993.
Inuit Art Quarterly: Vol. 8, No. 3, Fall, 1993.
Inuit Gallery of Vancouver
AN ENDURING TRADITION: Inuit Carving from Arctic Quebec.
Vancouver: The Inuit Gallery of Vancouver, 1983.
Inuit Gallery of Vancouver
ARTISTS OF ARCTIC QUEBEC. Vancouver: Inuit Gallery of
Vancouver, 1983.
(c) Inuit Art Section, INAC 1995
| 