In Family Group, George Arluk draws five figures together into a single, closely joined form, their bodies merging into the stone from which their heads emerge at varying heights and angles. Each face bears the artist's familiar features, a triangular nose, a slender slash of a mouth, and a mask-like expression that lends the gathering a curious sense of individuality. Particularly pleasing are the small spaces between the figures, where the stone gives way to openings that distinguish one body from the next, even as they remain inseparably joined. There is a wonderful interplay of solid stone and open space, of separate personalities and shared physical presence. With little attention to individual anatomy, Arluk conveys something of the closeness and companionship of family, five figures gathered so tightly together that they seem almost inseparable.

MBL