Sold at Auction: Luke Airut

LUKE AIRUT (AEROOT; LUKIE; AERUT; AIRUK)

Born: February 1, 1942 Male E5-556
Place of Birth: on Alanarjuk Lake
Resides: Igloolik; also lived in Hall Beach
Sculpture


Luke began carving in 1967 to earn extra money. He learned a lot about
carving stone and whalebone from Igloolik artist Pacome Kolaut. Luke prefers
to work with stone because it allows him to use his imagination. He believes
his work has improved and become more life-like over the years. In addition
to carving he has also made tools and jewellery for sale. His wife Marie is
a crafts artist.



EXHIBITIONS:

August - September 1973 Eskimo Sculpture in Ivory and Whalebone
Waddington Galleries
Montreal, Quebec
(illustrated catalogue)

October - November 1980 Igloolik - Recent Sculpture
Gallery of the Arctic
Victoria, British Columbia
(illustrated catalogue)

December 1980 Contemporary Sculpture from Igloolik
Pucker/Safrai Gallery
Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A.

April - May 1981 Festival of Birds
The Arctic Circle
Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.

December 1984 Takamit - Canadian Eskimo Art: Selections
from Private Collections and the Government
of Canada
Organized by La Federation des Cooperatives
du Nouveau-Quebec and the Jane Voorhees
Zimmerli Art Museum, Rutgers University
New Brunswick, New Jersey, U.S.A.
(illustrated brochure)


March - May 1985 Uumajut: Animal Imagery in Inuit Art
Winnipeg Art Gallery
Winnipeg, Manitoba
(illustrated catalogue)

May - October 1986 Inuit Arts and Crafts at Expo '86
C.N.E. Expo
Toronto, Ontario

October 1987 A Preference for Bone
The Innuit Gallery of Eskimo Art
Toronto, Ontario

November 1988 Echoes of the Drum
Gallery of the Arctic
Victoria, British Columbia
(illustrated catalogue)

January - February 1989 Images of the Far North
Arctic Artistry
(held at the Erie County Fairgrounds)
Hartsdale, New York, U.S.A.

May 1989 Spirit of the Birds
Gallery of the Arctic
Victoria, British Columbia
(illustrated catalogue)

September - October 1990 Through the Eyes of the Shaman
Arctic Artistry
Hastings-on-Hudson, New York, U.S.A.

January 1991 Sojourns to Nunavut: Contemporary Inuit Art
from Canada
at Bunkamura Art Gallery, presented by the
University of British Columbia Museum of
Anthropology and The McMichael Canadian Art
Collection
Tokyo, Japan
(tour)
(illustrated catalogue)


February - June 1991 Granville Island Canadian Inuit Sculpture
Exhibition (first exhibition)
Vancouver Inuit Art Society
Vancouver, British Columbia

April 1991 Hand Crafted Jewellery by the Graduating
Students in the Jewellery/Metalwork
Certificate Program at Arctic College
Iqaluit Fine Arts Gallery Ltd.
Iqaluit, Northwest Territories

June - September 1991 Granville Island Canadian Inuit Sculpture
Exhibition (second exhibition)
Vancouver Inuit Art Society
Vancouver, British Columbia

February - August 1992 Inuit Art on the Mezzanine: New Acquisitions
Winnipeg Art Gallery
Winnipeg, Manitoba
(illustrated brochure)

April - July 1993 Multiple Realities: Inuit Images of
Shamanic Transformation
Winnipeg Art Gallery
Winnipeg, Manitoba
(illustrated brochure)

April - May 1994 Mythic Image
Ancestral Spirits Gallery
Port Townsend, Washington, U.S.A.

May - September 1995 Keeping Our Stories Alive:
An Exhibition of the Art and Crafts
from Dene and Inuit of Canada
Institute of American Indian Arts Museum
Santa Fe, New Mexico, U.S.A.
(illustrated catalogue)



COLLECTIONS:

Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Ontario
Eskimo Museum, Churchill, Manitoba
Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre, Yellowknife, Northwest Territories
Sarick Collection, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Ontario
University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta
Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba


HONOURS, ACHIEVEMENTS and EVENTS:




SELECTED REFERENCES:

Brandson, Lorraine E.
CARVED FROM THE LAND: The Eskimo Museum Collection. Churchill,
Man.: Diocese of Churchill Hudson Bay, 1994.

Canadian Arctic Producers
IGLOOLIK: Recent Sculpture. Ottawa: Canadian Arctic Producers
Cooperative Limited, 1980.

Driscoll, Bernadette
UUMAJUT: Animal Imagery in Inuit art. Winnipeg: Winnipeg Art
Gallery, 1985.

Gallery of the Arctic
ECHOES OF THE DRUM. Victoria, B.C. : Gallery of the Arctic, 1988.

Institute of American Indian Arts Museum
KEEPING OUR STORIES ALIVE: An Exhibition of Art and Crafts from
Dene and Inuit of Canada. Santa Fe, N.M.: Institute of American
Native Arts Museum, 1995.

Mitchell, E.H.
CANADIAN INUIT ARTIFACTS: / edited by E.H. Mitchell and Father
Franz Van de Velde. Ottawa: Canadian Arctic Producers
Cooperative Limited, 1973.

Waddington Galleries
ESKIMO SCULPTURE IN IVORY AND WHALEBONE. Montreal: Waddington
Galleries, 1973.

Walrus Imports
CATALOGUE OF INUIT ART. Kennebunkport, Maine: Walrus Imports,
1974.