Few artists have been able to take hard stone and bring forth fluid shapes and forms like Floyd Kuptana. While the early influence of family members can be seen in some of his earlier work, here Kuptana’s style is unmistakably his own. Ballroom Dancer is a lyrical and tongue-in-cheek example of Kuptana’s work at its best. Slender, vining limbs curve out, and with a light touch this unique “dancing bear” moves to the rhythm of some unheard music. The bear’s starched bowtie is prominently on show for a formal occasion. The facial features, square and curved at once, are hallmarks of a Kuptana bear. Kuptana always paid special attention to finishing his sculptures, and this work is no exception; the black stone has been polished to a beautiful sheen. We can only imagine this fellow enjoying a spotlight on the dance floor!

References: This work was featured on the cover of Inuit Art Quarterly, (Vol. 23, No. 1, Spring 2008) as part of a larger article on the artist’s work, “Floyd Kuptana: Reinventing Myths,” Inuit Art Quarterly, Vol. 23, No. 1, Spring 2008, p. 18 - 24. In 2017 this work was also highlighted by the Inuit Art Foundation’s Executive Director and Publisher, Alysa Procida, as “the only dancing bear ever published on the cover of the magazine, and, as such, is a clear reminder of the IAQ’s steadfast support of boundary-breaking artists over the past 30 years.” Alysa Procida, “Inuit Art Quarterly at 30,” Inuit Art Quarterly, Vol. 30, No. 3, Fall 2017. For a visual overview of Kuptana’s more recent sculpted work, see Deborah Harris and Sae Kimura, The Faces of Floyd Kuptana, (Toronto: Arcturus Gallery, 2021).