January 29 to March 7, 2026
List of available artworks coming soon
La Guilde is proud to present Animism Today, a solo exhibition by Koomuatuk Sapa Curley featuring a new series of stone sculptures.
Koomuatuk (Kuzy) Sapa Curley is interested in the Inuit belief that beings and things possess a spirit through which they are all connected. He believes that the way his ancestors experienced and perceived the world is more relevant than ever to the nature of the relationship between humans, their environment and other living beings.
For the artist, animism makes perfect sense when you are up north, out on the land In describing his experience and creative process, he says, “When I carve stone, I am present where I am, but also back at my grandparents’ camp. I see the place again, the water and the sky surrounding the land, and the animals we encountered on our way there. I remember the wind, the sun, the cold, and the fresh air. It is this connection that I try to express in my sculptures. I speak of Arctic animals by showing much more than their appearance, but also their movement. I strive to show their life force.”
Born in 1984 in Kinngait, Nunavut, Koomuatuk Sapa Curley is a sculptor, curator, and filmmaker. He is a fourth-generation artist from the renowned Ashoona family. He learned to sculpt at a young age while spending his summers with his grandparents, Qaaqa Ashoona and Mayoreak Ashoona, at their remote camp near Kinngait.
While he explores traditional themes, his techniques are decidedly contemporary. The use of modern tools has allowed him to develop a realistic style and a distinctive personal touch. Now living in the Ottawa region, he has access to a variety of materials in addition to the serpentine and bone he still collects in Kinngait. The use of imported stones such as alabaster and pyrophyllite allows him to masterfully play with transparency and different chromatic tones.
Text by France Cantin
BIOGRAPHY
Born in 1984 in Kinngait (Cape Dorset), Nunavut, Koomuatuk Sapa Curley is a sculptor, curator, and filmmaker. A fourth-generation artist from the renowned Ashoona family, he learned to carve at an early age from his grandparents, Qaqaq and Mayoreak Ashoona. He began his professional career in college and later integrated filmmaking into his artistic practice.
Curley has led or co-led several major public artworks, including a sculpture for the Inuit Circumpolar Council (2014), an inuksuk in New Delhi created with Bill Nasogaluak (2014), and a 26-ton granite sculpture at York University with Ruben Anton Komangapik (2016). In 2020, he received a Government of Nunavut grant to create a sculpture honoring his great-grandmother, artist Pitseolak Ashoona, and in 2025, he was commissioned to build an inuksuk for the Consulate General of Canada in Guangzhou, China. Recipient of the Paul Qayatinuaq Award (2010) and the Trias Art Prize (2022), Curley is recognized for his exploration of cultural continuity and Inuit resilience.
As coordinator of the Mobilizing Inuit Cultural Heritage program, he produced a series of video interviews and a digital storytelling project highlighting elders’ knowledge. His work has been exhibited across Canada, including iNuit Blanche (2016), Tatigi at York University (2015), and Tunnirrusiangit: Kenojuak Ashevak and Tim Pitsiulak at the Art Gallery of Ontario (2018).
Rooted in the Ashoona family’s artistic legacy, his practice celebrates Inuit culture through representations of northern animals, legends, and traditional ways of life. Combining traditional hand tools with modern techniques, Curley works in stone, jade, ivory, and marble, creating sculptures that range from monumental to miniature. He lives and works in Ottawa.
Opening : Thursday, January 29 at 5:30p.m., the artists will be present.