Pierre Aupilardjuk

Pierre Aupilardjuk (born 1965) is a Canadian ceramic artist who lives and works in Kangiqliniq (Rankin Inlet), Nunavut.

Personal life Pierre Aupilardjuk was born in 1965 in Repulse Bay in Nunavut. He is the son of respected sculptor and elder Mariano Aupilardjuk. He has been involved in the Matchbox Gallery studios since their inception, as a student, assistant manager of the ceramics workshop (until 2001), and teacher.

Artistic career Sculpture and vessel merge in many of Aupilardjuk's works, where he applies fully three-dimensional figures to the outside of his pots. These sculptural forms are carefully cut in half, scooped hollow, and put back together before they are applied to the exterior of the pot. Balance and technical elegance are also evident throughout Aupilardjuk's practice in the sculptural forms of his vessels and the human and animal forms that claim space on their surfaces.

Aupilardjuk is comfortable collaborating with various artists, “In addition to collaborating with artists at the Matchbox Gallery in Kangiqliniq, in 2016 Aupilardjuk travelled to Alberta to attend the Medalta Residency with other artists. Works that came out of this residency and subsequent collaborations have become the focal point of the touring exhibition Earthlings.

In 2017 Aupilardjuk was awarded the Governor General of Canada's Sovereign's Medal for Volunteers.

Selected group shows 2019–2020 – Àbadakone | Continuous Fire | Feu continuel, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, ON 2017 – Earthlings, Esker Foundation, Calgary, AB 2017 – Northern Visions, Gardiner Museum, Toronto, ON 2014 – The Matchbox Gallery: A Retrospective, Museum of Inuit Art, Toronto, ON 2007–2008 – Made in Kangiqliniq: Ceramics and Sculpture from Rankin Inlet, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, ON 2003 – Rankin Inlet Ceramics, Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, MB