Pierre Aupilardjuk
Pierre has been with the Matchbox ceramics program since it began in the late eighties. From 1990 to 2000, he worked as the assistant manager, coordinating most aspects of production, and working closely with all of the artists of the Matchbox. He has also served as an instructor. Pierre maintains an active life on the land and much of his time is spent hunting to provide for the needs of his family.
His style of work represents his strong roots in the more traditional aesthetic which predominated in the days when the legendary figures of Inuit art were at work in the program which was being run by Claude Grenier. His father, Mariano Aupilardjuk, a brilliant and articulate spokesman on behalf of traditional knowledge and practice, is a reknown sculptor and elder whose artistic works and words are highly respect in Nunavut.
Pierre's works are included in the ceramics collection of the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Center in Yellowknife, N.T., the permanent collection of the National Gallery in Ottawa, as well as private collections throughout North America. His work was included in several exhibitions, including "Modern Echoes- Contemporary Inuit Ceramics and Sculpture", sponsored by the Native American Trading Company Gallery. In June, 2001, Pierre was the Kivalliq representative at the Greenland Arts Festival of 2001 in Nuuk. At the Winnipeg Art Gallery in 2001, and the Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery in Waterloo, Ontario in the summer of 2006.
Video Interview
Pierre Aupilardjuk on October, 2010 at The Matchbox Gallery, Rankin Inlet, Nunavut