We have spoken before about the works of Davie Atchealak, acknowledging not only his skill as a sculptor but also his flair as a showman. His finest carvings reveal a flourish of almost baroque complexity, where detail is abundant yet purposeful. What also becomes clear in his most accomplished works is his deep and intuitive grasp of the engineering aspects of sculpture. Few of his contemporaries managed weight and balance with such daring control. His figures often occupy positions that seem precarious, their weight thrown dramatically off centre, yet they remain secure, anchored by a carefully calculated base element that acts as a counterbalance. The result is a sense of form that appears to spring forward with energy while resting on a foundation of remarkable technical discipline.

The present work captures Atchealak’s showmanship at what is possibly its most exuberant. This acrobatic composition of Four Dancing Bears springing forth from an almost frighteningly small plinth is, simply put, incredible.

Surging upward from this small base, the bodies of these bears are arranged in a composition that seems to defy both balance and gravity. The quartet of creatures reads like a troupe of acrobats frozen mid-performance, as each one pushes, lifts, and balances the next in a chain of improbable motion. Davie manages to make the hard, lustrous green stone appear nimble, giving his bears a lightness that defies their medium. It is a tour de force of animation and engineering and what delights at first glance as whimsical choreography is, on closer inspection, a breathtaking demonstration of control, imagination, and technical mastery.

MBL

References: For singular dancing bears by the artist, see Amway Environmental Foundation, Masters of the Arctic: Art In The Service Of The Earth, (Ada, MI: Amway Environmental Foundation, 1989), p. 18. See also Running Bear at the Winnipeg Art Gallery (2012-72), https://vault.wag.ca/artwork/running-bear-2/, Accessed 11 Sept 2025. Davie’s most famous work is the Drummer, 1974, at the National Gallery of Canada (38191), which like the present work is an experiment in balance and control. It can be seen on the cover of Marie Routledge and Robert Swain, eds., Inuit Art in the 1970s / L’Art Inuit Actuel, 1970–79, (Kingston, ON / Agnes Etherington Art Centre: 1979).