Mattiusi iyaituk

MATTIUSI IYAITUK       (MANUKULUK; MATHEW; MATUISI; IYAITOK; MATIEWSIE; MATIUSIE; MATTIEUSIE)

Born:   November 30, 1950
Gender: Male
Disc Number: E9-1939
Place of Birth: Near Cape Smith
Resides: Ivujivik
Sculpture

When you look at my sculpture, you don’t understand all of it. For this reason, you have the freedom to dream. Everyone has opinions about art so I just put titles for each piece and leave the rest for dreams.

I started to do abstract forms in 1979. One day, I was doing a sculpture of a man but I did not like it. So, I just made forms on one side. Since that time, I have been doing sculptures using abstract forms.

I also inlay different materials such as caribou antler, or different colour stone for faces or other details like tools. The inlaying of bone faces is an old form of art used by earlier Inuit sculptors.

My work is in both worlds because the abstract forms I use are considered by many to be a modern way of doing art but combine the abstract forms with the old Inuit technique of inlaying.

Before 1979, I was doing my sculptures like the way I saw it done in Ivujivik, Quebec. I used to put detail on my work like everyone else until I fell in love with abstract form. It makes me feel good to work in abstract form, therefore I know it is the right form of art for me.

Mattiusi Iyaituk, « Abstract Artist » (Artist’s Statement)

Exhibitions

October – November 1978
Eskimo Art
Embankment Gallery
London, England (illustrated catalogue)

1979
Group Show
Gallery Manfred
Dundas, Ontario

1979
Group Show
Images Art Gallery
Toronto, Ontario

November – December 1979
In Celebration
Canadian Guild of Crafts Quebec
Montreal, Quebec

September 1980 – February 1981
ThingsMade by Inuit
La Federation des Cooperatives du Nouveau-QuebecMontreal, Quebec (tour) (illustrated catalogue)

September – October 1981
The Jacqui and Morris Shumiatcher Collection of Inuit Art
Norman Mackenzie Art Gallery, University of Regina
Regina, Saskatchewan (illustrated catalogue)

1982
Group Show
International Art Fair
Toronto, Ontario

1982
Group Show
Gallery Phillip
Don Mills, Ontario

December 1983
Artists of Arctic Quebec
Inuit Gallery of Vancouver
Vancouver, British Columbia (illustrated catalogue)

March – June 1984
The Oral Tradition National Museum of Man
Ottawa, Ontario

October 1984
Images of the Far North Studio Art Gallery,
State University of New York
Binghamton, New York, U.S.A.

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)

1985 – 1986
Sanaugasi Takujaksat: A Travelling Celebration of Inuit Sculpture
Presented by Canadian Arctic Producers Ltd., with the assistance of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada,
Ottawa (tour) (illustrated brochure)

January – February 1986
Inuit: Eskimo Art of Arctic Canada Miharudo Gallery
Mejiro, Japan

August 1986
Arctic Quebec Sculpture
Inuit Gallery of Vancouver Vancouver, British Columbia (illustrated catalogue)

October – November 1986
Inuit Art: Featuring Selected Works of Matiusi Iyaituk
Alaska Shop
New York, New York, U.S.A.

October 1987
Recent Acquisitions of Early Inuit Sculpture
Arctic Artistry
Hartsdale, New York, U.S.A.

June 1988
An Exhibition of Master Works from Arctic Quebec
Galerie Le Chariot Montreal, Quebec

January – February 1989
Images of the Far North Arctic Artistry
(held at the Erie County Fairgrounds)
Hartsdale, New York, U.S.A.

February – March 1989
[L’art inuit] Presented by l’Iglou Art Esquimau
Douai at St. Marcellin, France

March – April 1989
[L’art inuit] Presented by l’Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai at Palais de l’Europe, le Touquet, France

August 1989
Art Inuit, la Sculpture des Esquimaux du Canada
Presented by l’Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai at Chapelle de la Visitation, Thonon Thonon, France

September – October 1989
Sculpture from Arctic Quebec: The New Generation/Masterworks by five artists
Snow Goose Associates
Seattle, Washington, U.S.A.

October 1989
Art Inuit, Sculpture des Esquimaux du Canada
Presented by l’Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai at Galerie La Poutre, Marseille, France

October 1989
Art Inuit, Sculpture des Esquimaux du Canada
Presented by l’Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai at Galerie La Poutre, Marseille, France

December 1989
Art Inuit, la Sculpture des Esquimaux du Canada Presented by l’Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai at Les Chiroux, Centre Culturel de la Walloni
Liege, Belgium

February – March 1990
Beeldhouwkunst van de Inuit (Canada)
by l’Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai, France at Amphora Finippon pvba, Sint Andries
Brugge, Belgium

June 1990 – July 1992
The First Passionate Collector: The Ian Lindsay Collection of Inuit Art
Winnipeg Art Gallery
Winnipeg, Manitoba (tour) (illustrated catalogue)

November 1990 – February 1991
Espaces Inuit
Maison Hamel-Bruneau
Ste-Foy, Quebec (illustrated catalogue)

December 1990 – February 1991
Drummers
The Guild Shop Toronto, Ontario

June – July 1991
Visions of Power
presented by the Earth Spirit Festival at York Quay Gallery and Leo Kamen Gallery
Toronto, Ontario (illustrated catalogue)

January – March 1992
Images of Influence: Contemporary Inuit Art
Surrey Art Gallery
Surrey, British Columbia

February 1992
Contact Grandeur Nature: Exposition d’arts amerindien et inuit du Quebec
Ministere de la Sante et des Services sociaux
Quebec, Quebec (brochure)

June – October 1992
Nouveau Territoires …350/500 Ans Apres
Presented at les maisons de la culture Cote-des-Neiges, Notre-Dame­ de-Grace, and Rosemont-Petite Patrie
Montreal Recreation and Community Development Service and les Ateliers Visions Planetaire
Montreal, Quebec (tour) (illustrated catalogue)

September – November 1993
The Bear: Sculpture
Albers Gallery
San Francisco, California, U.S.A.

February 1994
Inuit and Inuvialuk Sculptures and Prints by Bill Nasogaluak and Elisha Sanguya
Art Mode Gallery
Ottawa, Ontario

May – June 1994
Share the Vision
Philadelphians Collect Inuit Art Art Space Gallery
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.

September – October 1994
Kunst van de Inuit Eskimo’s Gemeentelijk Kunstcentrum Huis Hellemans
Edegem, Belgium (illustrated brochure)

November – December 1994
Three Young Carvers from Cape Dorset and Drawings by Aoudla Pudlat
Albers Gallery
San Francisco, California, U.S.A.

May – July 1995
Tundra & Ice: Exceptional Sculpture from Canada Orca Aart Gallery
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A.

December 1995
Images from the Arctic
Galerie D’Art Vincent
Ottawa, Ontario

January – February 1996
Not Just a Dancing Step…
Galerie D’Art Vincent Ottawa, Ontario (illustrated catalogue)

November – December 1996
New Visions
Spirit Wrestler Gallery Vancouver, British Columbia (illustrated catalogue)

January 1997
Transitions: Contemporary Canadian Indian and Inuit Art
presented by Indian Affairs and Northern Development and Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada
Paris, France (tour) (illustrated catalogue)

January 1997
Stories in Stone: A Canadian Inuit Art Exhibition held on the occassion of the trade mission to Korea lead by Prime Minister Jean Chretien
held and the Westin Chosun Hotel orgainzed by McKnight Associates Seoul, Korea (tour) (illustrated catalogue)

February 1997
Legendary Animals
Inuit Art Foundation
Presented by the graduating students of the Cultural Industries Training Program
Nepean (Ottawa), Ontario

May 1997
Nunavut/Nunavik: Sculpture in the Time of Change
Spirit Wrestler Gallery
Vancouver, British Columbia (illustrated catalogue)

1997
Artists of Nunavik
Inuit and Indian Art Gallery
Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development
Hull, Quebec, Canada

Solo exhibitions

1980
Matiusie Iyaituk
The Beckett Gallery
Hamilton, Ontario

September 1981
Matiusie Iyaituk
Images of the North
San Francisco, California, U.S.A. (illustrated brochure)

1983
Matiusie Iyaituk
Gallery Phillip
Don Mills, Ontario

March 1986
Matiusi Iyaituk: Inuit Sculptor Ivujivik, Arctic Quebec
The Guild Shop
Toronto, Ontario

October 1991
Stories in Stone: Sculpture by Matiusie Iyaituk, Ivujivik, Arctic Quebec
Images of the North
San Francisco, California, U.S.A. (brochure)

October 1992
Matiusie Iyaituk Recent Sculptures
Aux Multiples Collection
Quebec City, Quebec (illustrated brochure)

1990
Matiusie Iyaituk
Inuit Galerie
Mannheim, Germany (illustrated catalogue)

November – December 1990
Matiusie Iyaituk
The Guild Shop
Toronto, Ontario

March – April 1995
Mattiusi Iyaituk: Memoire Vive
Centre d’Exposition de Baie-Saint-Paul
Quebec

September – October 2000
The Freedom to Dream: The Sulpture of Mattiusi Iyaituk
Spirit Wrestler Gallery
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada (illustrated catalogue)

March – April 2002
Matiusie Iyaituk
Canadian Arctic Gallery
Grunder

Collections

Ackland Art Museum, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, U.S.A. Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Ontario

Canadian Museum of Civilization, Hull, Quebec

Inuit Art Centre, Indian and Northern Affairs, Ottawa, Ont, Canada Musee de la civilisation, Quebec City, Quebec

Musee du Quebec, Quebec City, Quebec National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario

Sarick Collection, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Ontario

Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba

Selected references

Blodgett, Jean
THE ART OF THE INUIT.  Art and Artists 15, no. 1, May, 1980. pp.42-47.

Canada.  Indian and Northern Affairs
CANADIAN INUIT SCULPTURE.  Ottawa:  Inuit Art Section, 1992.

Canadian Arctic Producers SANAUGASI TAKUJAKSAT: Sculpture.  Winnipeg:
A Travelling Celebration of Inuit Canadian Arctic Producers, 1985.

Federation des Cooperatives du Nouveau-Quebec
FINE ARTS AND CRAFTS FROM NOUVEAU QUEBEC.  Montreal: La Federation des Cooperatives du Nouveau-Quebec, 1988.

Federation des Cooperatives du Nouveau-Quebec
THINGS MADE BY INUIT.  Montreal:  La Federation des Cooperatives du Nouveau-Quebec.  Compiled and edited by M. Myers, 1980.

Gagnon, Louis
ESPACES INUIT:  Dessins et Sculpture.  Sainte-Foy, Quebec: Maison Hamel Bruneau, 1990.

Galerie le Chariot
NOUVEAU QUEBEC – ARCTIC QUEBEC.   Montreal: Galerie le Chariot, 1988.

Hessel, Ingo
ART NEWS:  Northern Art Exhibit; The National Gallery of Canada; Profiles of Young Artists. Inuktitut, no. 61, Fall, 1985. pp.55-64.

DIE KUNST AUS DER ARKTIS. Mannheim, Federal Republic of Germany, Inuit Gallerie, 1987.

Inuit Galerie
MATIUSIE IYAITUK.  Mannheim, Germany: Inuit Galerie, 1990.

Inuit Gallery of Vancouver
ARTISTS OF ARCTIC QUEBEC. Vancouver: Inuit Gallery of Vancouver, 1983.

Mitchell, Marybelle
SEVEN ARTISTS IN OTTAWA. Inuit Art Quarterly, 6(3) Summer 1991: 6-17.

Mitchell, Marybelle
THE IYAITUK BROTHERS: NUTARAALUK AND MATTIUSIE. In: INUIT ART: AN ANTHOLOGY. Winnipeg: Watson and Dyer, 1988. pp.64-75.

Noel, Michel
NUNAVIMIUT: ART INUIT= INUIT ART. Pointe-Claire, Quebec: Roussan en collaboration avec l’Institut cultural AVATAQ, 1992 (Collection LE TAMBOUR).

Norman Mackenzie Art Gallery
THE JACQUI AND MORRIS SHUMIATCHER COLLECTION OF INUIT ART. Regina: The Norman Mackenzie Art Gallery, 1981.

Saucier, Celine
IMAGE INUIT DU NOUVEAU-QUEBEC: By Celine Saucier and Eugene Kedl. Quebec: Musee de la Civilisation, 1988.

Swinton, George
SCULPTURE OF THE INUIT:  Rev. and updated edition of Sculpture of the Eskimo. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1992.

The Earth Spirit Festival
VISIONS OF POWER: CONTEMPORARY ART BY FIRST NATIONS, INUIT AND JAPANESE CANADIANS:  Essays by Ingo Hessel, Bryce Kanbara [and] Alfred Young Man.  Toronto: The Earth Spirit Festival, 1991.

Tulugak, Aliva
HE HAD A PRIMITIVE STYLE.  Information North, Winter, 1986. pp.10-11.

Vision Planetaire
NOUVEAUX TERRITOIRES: 350/500 ANS APRES: Une exposition d’art aborigene contemporain du Canada. Montreal: Vision Planetaire: Ville de Montreal: UNESCO, 1992.

Winnipeg Art Gallery
THE FIRST PASSIONATE COLLECTOR: THE IAN LINDSAY COLECTION OF INUIT ART:  Le premier collectionneur passionne: La Collection d’art inuit Ian Lindsay. Winnipeg : Winnipeg Art Gallery, 1990.

HONOURS, ACHIEVEMENTS and EVENTS

1981 Attended the opening of his solo exhibition at Images of the North in San Francisco.

1982 Submitted a maquette for stone decoration to the Parliament Buildings in Ottawa.

1982 Demonstrated carving at the Gallery Phillip exhibition.

1983 Guest speaker at ‘Canada’s Peoples – Cultural Contributions’ conference hosted by Mohawk College, Hamilton, and York College, Pennsylvania.

1984 Was awarded an Explorations grant from the Canada Council to work as a sculptor.

1986 Attended opening of solo exhibition held in March at The Guild Shop in Toronto.

1988 Attended the opening of the Arctic Quebec exhibition held at Galerie le Chariot in Montreal.

1991 Attended Qatuujiqatgit Sanaguatit-Contemporary Carving/Sculpting Session organized by the Inuit Artists’ College at the Ottawa School of Art in April/May.

1991 Invited to teach in Labrador workshop organized by the Inuit Artists’ College, November 1-21.

1992 Invited to attend as artist-in-residence for one week at The McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Kleinburg, Ontario.

1993 Travelled to Ohaka, Mexico to participate in a contemporary aboriginal art exhibition.   Iyaituk displayed a carving titled « Caribou Hunter. »

1993 Friends of the Musee de la Civilisation in Quebec City donate Iyaituk’s sculpture « A Stranger in the Wood » (1991) to the museum.                                                                      The carving had been featured on the caver of Inuit Art Quarterly (Summer 1991).

1993 Instructed a summer session for non-native artists at the Ottawa School of Art.

1997 Elected President of the Inuit Art Foundation, Ottawa.

Last Revised:   September 2002 ©Inuit Art Section, INAC