Dancer

Kinngait (Cape Dorset)
Serpentine
23.5" x 19" x 13.5"

This powerful sculpture by renowned artist Kiawak Ashoona, OC, RCA (1933–2014), captures a moment of dynamic tension and expressive movement. A master of form and emotion, Ashoona carves a traditional dancer mid-step, his elbows sharply flared and hands poised just below the hips in a pose brimming with anticipation. Clad in a finely detailed amauti, the rippling folds and layers of his parka and pants reveal the artist’s deep reverence for traditional clothing and his technical mastery of stone. 

The dancer’s powerful stance is grounded in a bent right leg, while the left trails behind, foot grazing the earth, conveying a palpable sense of momentum as if he’s about to surge forward. His open mouth and deeply furrowed brow evoke both exertion and spiritual focus, while timeworn lines etched across his cheeks speak to a life shaped by age and the northern elements. A work of profound vitality and cultural resonance, this sculpture exemplifies Ashoona’s legacy as one of the most influential sculptors in Inuit art history.