Madeleine Isserkut Kringayak (ᐃᓯᑯ) (1928–1984), was a Canadian Inuk sculptor and jewelry artist. Her sculptures were carved primarily from natural materials such as

soapstone Soapstone (also known as steatite or soaprock) is a talc-schist, which is a type of metamorphic rock. It is composed largely of the magnesium rich mineral talc. It is produced by dynamothermal metamorphism and metasomatism, which occur in the ...

(steatite), bone, and antler reflecting the hunting habits and daily life of her family and the Inuit at large. Born in 1928 to carver Apollina Nobvak (1906-1965), she married fellow carver Nicholas Kringayark in 1942. Their daughters, Martha Ulliyak Milortok born 1944 and Simona Kringayark are also practicing carvers. A pioneering carver in the

Repulse Bay Repulse Bay or Tsin Shui Wan is a bay in the southern part of Hong Kong Island, located in the Southern District, Hong Kong. It is one of the most expensive residential areas in the world. Geography Repulse Bay is located in the souther ...

Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories (abbreviated ''NT'' or ''NWT''; french: Territoires du Nord-Ouest, formerly ''North-Western Territory'' and ''North-West Territories'' and namely shortened as ''Northwest Territory'') is a federal territory of Canada. ...

(now Naujaat,

Nunavut Nunavut ( , ; iu, ᓄᓇᕗᑦ , ; ) is the largest and northernmost territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the '' Nunavut Act'' and the '' Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act'' ...

) community, Isserkut's work has been featured in at least 25 different exhibitions at a variety of institutions including the

Montreal Museum of Fine Arts The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA; french: Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal, MBAM) is an art museum in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the largest art museum in Canada by gallery space. The museum is located on the historic Golden Squ ...

, the

Winnipeg Art Gallery The Winnipeg Art Gallery (WAG) is an art museum in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Its permanent collection includes over 24,000 works from Canadian, Indigenous Canadian, and international artists. The museum also holds the world's largest collec ...

, the Hamilton Art Gallery, and the

Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

also known as Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada among others. In 1979 one of her soapstone sculptures was featured in the third

Canada Post Canada Post Corporation (french: Société canadienne des postes), trading as Canada Post (french: Postes Canada), is a Crown corporations of Canada, Crown corporation that functions as the primary Postal administration, postal operator in Canada ...

Inuit series of stamps. This series also included fellow Repulse Bay artist, Jean Mapsalak, on the 17 cent Canadian stamp. Her work is included in the permanent collection of the

National Gallery of Canada The National Gallery of Canada (french: Musée des beaux-arts du Canada), located in the capital city of Ottawa, Ontario, is Canada's national art museum. The museum's building takes up , with of space used for exhibiting art. It is one of the ...

.https://www.gallery.ca/collection/artist/madeleine-isserkut-kringayark

References

1928 births 1984 deaths Inuit sculptors Artists from Nunavut People from Naujaat Canadian Inuit women Canadian women sculptors 20th-century Canadian sculptors 20th-century Canadian women artists Inuit from the Northwest Territories 20th-century women sculptors {{Canada-sculptor-stub