Arlook was so prolific towards the end of his career that we tend to forget just how revolutionary he was as a young artist. Arlook began carving at an early age and was heavily influenced by elder Kivalliq artists such as John Tiktak, John Pangnark, and Lucy Tasseor in the 1960s and early 1970s. Arlook was somehow able to combine the minimalist abstraction of the period with a more “modern” conceptual abstraction, creating a body of work reflecting both his cultural roots and innovative vision. Figural Group is a gorgeous sculpture carved by an artist at the top of his game.

References: For a selection of works by the artist see the solo exhibition catalogue George Arluk: The Song in the Stone, (San Francisco: Images of the North, 1979); the catalogue illustrates 27 works from the late 1970s. See also Gerald McMaster, editor, Inuit Modern: The Samuel and Esther Sarick Collection, (Toronto: Art Gallery of Ontario, 2010), pp. 110 and 128-129.