As a mature artist, Abraham Anghik Ruben has developed a personal style that has become recognizable for its distinctive visuals, material defying engineering, and the frequent use of a grand scale. Few artists can make such large pieces of stone seem so soft to the eyes, and so evident of life. Rather than be limited by the material, Anghik can truly elicit form from the stone, and in this instance, to a beautiful final result.

While they are oft-repeated subjects in Anghik’s work, each of his Sedna figures has its own character and movement that differentiates her from her sisters. Here, the columnar presentation in dark stone features graceful curves and soft flowing movement. Sedna gently floats in place, encircled by her spectacular tresses of flowing hair and gazing up towards an unseen waterline. Perhaps she is waiting for a shaman to braid her hair or is keeping an eye on the various sea creatures she has provided to the world. Enchanting.

References: For a similarly impressive depiction of Sedna by the artist see Gerald McMaster, ed., Inuit Modern: The Samuel and Esther Sarick Collection, (Toronto: Art Gallery of Ontario, 2010), p. 206. For a somewhat later example see Abraham Anghik Ruben and Darlene Coward Wight, Abraham Anghik Ruben, (Winnipeg: Winnipeg Art Gallery, 2001), cat. 36, p. 85. See the article “Where We Go From Here: Four Generations and the New Arctic Reality” by the artist in Inuit Art Quarterly, (Vol. 30, No 3, Fall 2017), pp. 54-63. For more works by the artist, see Abraham Anghik Ruben, Rocco Pannese and Cosimo Stifani, Abraham Anghik Ruben, (Kipling Gallery: Vaughan, Ontario, 2016); Abraham Anghik Ruben and Rocco Pannese, Abraham Anghik Ruben : The World of Man Animals and Spirits, (Kipling Gallery: Vaughan, Ontario, 2014); Abraham Anghik Ruben and Darlene Coward Wight, Abraham Anghik Ruben, (Winnipeg Art Gallery: Winnipeg, 2001). See also Darlene Coward Wight, Out of Tradition: Abraham Anghik / David Ruben Piqtoukun, (Winnipeg: Winnipeg Art Gallery, 1989).