Jaco Ishulutaq

JACO ISHULUTAQ      (ESHULUTAK; EESHUGLUTAK; ESULUKTAK)

Born: February 15, 1951
Male
E6-619
Place of Birth: Pangnirtung, Nunavut
Resides: Pangnirtung, Nunavut
Sculpture, Tapestries

Jaco Ishulutaq started carving at the age of sixteen.   He learned by watching his grandfather and has since enjoyed making sculptures from antler, ivory, whalebone and, more particularly, stone. His favourite subjects include people, birds and other animals. He also enjoys portraying images from staries told by his grandfather, as well as images from his own mind. Jaco also enjoys drawing and jewellery-making, but no longer works in the former medium because it is notas lucrative as sculpting. When making jewellery Jaco prefers using soapstone to ivory for personal reasons.  Several members of Jaco’s family are involved in the arts. His mother Elisapee, brother Lazalusie, and sisters Rosie and Jessie are all active artists in Pangnirtung and Iqaluit.

Jaco Ishulutaq-Chaman

Exhibitions

ART INUIT/ INUIT ART
Aux Multiples Collections et Brousseau et Bro Sainte-Anne, Quebec
(illustrated brochure)

November – December 1979
In Celebration of the Arts of the Canadian Eskimo of Pangnirtung, N.W.T.
Inuit Art Gallery
San Francisco, California, U.S.A.

October – November 1980
Pangnirtung Whalebone Sculpture Gallery One
Toronto, Ontario

January – February 1981
Pangnirtung Whalebone Sculpture
The Snow Goose
Ottawa, Ontario

May – June 1981
Pangnirtung – Recent Sculpture
Inuit Gallery of Vancouver
Vancouver, British Columbia
(illustrated catalogue)

November – December 1984
Pangnirtung 1984: Eskimo Print Collection and Sculpture
Images of the North
San Francisco, California, U.S.A.
(illustrated brochure)

November – December 1984
Pangnirtung – Prints and Sculpture Images of the North
San Francisco, California, U.S.A.

October 1986
Masterwork Sculpture 1986
Inuit Gallery of Vancouver
Vancouver, British Columbia
(illustrated catalogue)

November – December 1987
Art Inuit
Canadian Guild of Crafts Quebec
Montreal, Quebec

July 1988
[L’art inuit] Presented by l’Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai
at Chapelle de la Visitation, Thonon France

August – September 1988
Mother & Child
Marion Scott Gallery
Vancouver, British Columbia
(illustrated catalogue)

November 1988
[L’art inuit] Presented by l’Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai
at Les Martres-de-Veyre
France

December 1988
[L’art inuit] Presented by l’I9lou Art Esquimau, Douai
at Galerie des Tanneurs, Mulhouse
France

February – March 1989
[L’art inuit] Presented by l’Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai
at St. Marcellin
France

March – April 1989
[L’art inuit] Presented by l’Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai
at Palais de l’Europe, le Touquet
France

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

April 1990
Art Inuit
Presented by l’Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai
at Palais de l’Europe
Le Touquet, France

July 1990
Art Inuit
Presented by l’Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai
at Thonon les Bains
France

January – February 1991
Pangnirtung Woven Tapestries
The Upstairs Gallery
Winnipeg, Manitoba

February – April 1991
Art Inuit
Presented by l’Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai
at Galerie Humbert
Nantes, France

April – June 1991
Art Inuit
Presented by l’Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai
at Galerie La Tour des Cardinaux
L’Isle sur la Sorgue, France

June – July 1991
Art Inuit
Presented by l’Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai
at Galerie Ombre et Lumiere
Ensisheim, France

November – December 1991
The Hand: Images in Inuit Sculpture
The Isaacs/Innuit Gallery
Toronto, Ontario
(illustrated brochure)

March – April 1993
The Theme of Transformation in Inuit Sculpture
The Isaacs/Innuit Gallery
Toronto

September – October 1994
Kunst van de Inuit Eskimo’s Gemeentelijk Kunstcentrum Huis Hellemans
Edegem, Belgium
(illustrated brochure)

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)

November – December 1996
Sculpture Inuit
Canadian Guild of Crafts Quebec
Montreal, Quebec
(brochure)

January – February 1997
The Carver’s Truth
Pucker Gallery
Boston, Massachusetts
(illustrated catalogue)

October 1999
Horizons
Inuit Gallery of Vancouver
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
(illustrated catalogue)

April 2000
The Artist’s Hand
Inuit Sculpture Portfolio
Inuit Gallery of Vancouver
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
(illustrated catalogue)

April – May 2001
Spirit of the Walrus
Feheley Fine Arts
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
(illustrated brochure)

August – September 2001
Nuliajuk: Mother of the Sea Beasts
Houston North Gallery
Lunenberg, Nova Scotia, Canada

February 2002 – September 2003
Nuviaavik: The Palce Where We Weave
Inuit Taperstries from Arctic Canada.
Canadian Museum of Civilization
Gatineau, QC, Canada

Solo exhibitions

October – November 1989
Inuit Life and Legends: an exhibition of sculptures by Jaco Ishulutaq
Gallery Phillip
Don Mille, Ontario
(illustrated brochure)

1991
Jaco Ishulutaq
Galerie aux Multiples Collections
Quebec, Quebec

April – May 1991
Sculpture by Jaco Ishulutaq
The Innuit Gallery of Eakimo Art
Toronto, Ontario
(illustrated brochure)

September – October 2000
Jacko Ishulutaq: Master Carver of Pangnirtung
Albers Gallery of Inuit Art
San Francisco, California, U.S.A

Collections

Amway Environmental Foundation Collection, Ada, Michigan, U.S.A.
Laurentian University Museum and Arts Centre, Sudbury, Ontario
Musee d’art Inuit Brousseau, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada
Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum, Brunswick, Maine, U.S.A.

Selected references

Canadian Arctic Producers
PANGNIRTUNG: Recent Sculpture. Ottawa: Canadian Arctic Producers Cooperative Limited, 1981.

Gallery Philip
INUIT LIFE AND LEGENDS. Don Mills, Ontario: Gallery Phillip, 1989.

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

Gallery of the Arctic
SPIRIT OF THE BIRDS. Victoria: Gallery of the Arctic, 1989.

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

Inuit Gallery of Vancouver
MASTERWORKS; SCULPTURE. Vancouver, B.C. Vancouver, 1986.

Marion Scott Gallery
MOTHER & CHILD. Vancouver: Marion Scott Gallery, 1988.

HONOURS, ACHIEVEMENTS and EVENTS

1989 Travelled to Don Mills, Ontario to attend the opening of his exhibition « Inuit Life and Legends » at Gallery Phillip.

Last Revised: January 2003 ©Inuit Art section, INAC