17" Sitting Bear by World Famous Paul Malliki

Inuit art: Walking Bear
Inuit Artist: Paul Malliki 
Size: 17" Across, (15" Horizontal), 15" high, 8" wide. Weight: 24.6 lbs
Community: Repulse Bay, NU
Stone: Marble (sparkly snow white)
id: caps-847000248fjjjy

Provenance: We have not received any carvings from Paul Malliki for over three years. In the last five years, we have had the honour of receiving all but five of Paul’s masterful bears. He has had some setbacks with his health from which he has now recovered.

This regal sitting bear is one of the first pieces Paul carved since recovering his health. I am so privileged to receive this Malliki treasure.

This bear is the ultimate expression of Malliki’s passion; the bear’s visage is realistic and in harmony with nature. The sculpture’s proportions are flawless and so crisp. Malliki’s artistry is his capacity to translate a living creature into an exact stone replica.
The result is phenomenal. Malliki brings a fresh unprecedented approach to Inuit art.

Paul Malliki is one of the most prolific and influential Inuit carvers of modern times. 

Why are Paul’s bears so famous? Just look at the unparalleled detail of this carving. Each strand of fur is perfectly etched which creates some of the realism of the piece. Malliki can balance the animal perfectly. The crisp white stone duplicates the white fur of the polar bear. There are so many elements that Malliki always gets right; the flow and movement of the bear, the muscle tone of the piece and the poses of the creature. Look at his right front paw! His massive paw is held above the snow, gently flexed almost as if he is offering you his paw in greeting.

It takes Paul over six months to complete a piece like this. There is so much intricate and fine detail it requires perseverance and 30 years of experience to achieve such an epic sculpture.

Investment wise, this is a blue chip stock. The value will greatly increase over time. The calibre of the piece is suited for an Inuit art magazine and would be a featured piece in any Inuit art auction or exhibition.

What more is there to say? This bear is paramount and a serious addition to any Inuit art collection. This bear is the most perfect Inuit carving you will see in your lifetime.

PAUL QUVIQ MALLIKI
Paul Malliki  was born in 1956 in an outpost camp near the community of Igloolik. He lived there with his family until he was 10 years old. At the time, they moved into Igloolik, where he stayed until he was 20. His family then moved to Naujaat to be with his grandmother. Paul still lives there with his wife and 7 children.

Paul did his first carving when he was 5 years old. He learned by himself, by watching other people. “Mostly from myself. I’ve learned most things by hunting. By seeing what’s around me. When I hunt animals, I study them. All the animals that are around us.”

“People always want my work. My Father would be away for days hunting, trapping foxes. If I didn’t go with him I would carve to support the family, if I wasn’t out hunting myself, in the dead of winter”

Paul carves many different kinds of animals and faces, but has most fun with caribou. His work can be found in many private and public collections and is in demand at galleries across North America, including Fehley Fine Arts Gallery in Toronto and the Judy Birch Gallery in Virginia and Nova Scotia. He has had many prestigious commissions, including presentation gifts to Prime Minister Brian Mulrony and Jean Cretien, and the Governor General Adrienne Clarkson. In 2000. he was also commissioned to produce a carving of ptarmigan for the Official Symbols Project for the Legislative building in Iqaluit, and in 1999 was 1 of 6 artists who made the Nunavut Mace. He was also invited to participate in the sculpting symposium- Stories in Stone, and has been repeatedly invited to attend the Nunavut Arts and Crafts Associations annual Arts Festival.

When he is not carving, Paul enjoys working with his dog team, hunting, and building things. “Just about everything. I like my life.”