Maureen Gruben | Up Front: Inuit Public Art at Onsite Gallery

Up Front: 

Inuit Public Art at Onsite Gallery Maureen Gruben 

September to December 2024

In Dance me through the herd, caribou hooves sit on candle ice. These scaled up forms have been printed using 3D scans of hooves harvested in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region, which Gruben cleaned and scraped by hand. Candle ice forms towards the end of spring as the sea ice melts into columns; the pieces chime as they continuously break off and drift against one another.

Caribou hooves hold scent glands through which herds leave messages for one another as they migrate across the tundra and beaches of the Western Arctic. The arrangements here are reminiscent of shelters, spaces for meeting to share stories and knowledge. They speak to ancient patterns of gathering as we move through our environment while it shifts around us.

Above image credit: Dance me through the herd, 2024. Image courtesy of the artist.

Artist Biography

Maureen Gruben’s multi-media practice incorporates diverse organic and industrial materials that are often salvaged from her local environment. She was born and raised in Tuktoyaktuk where her parents were traditional Inuvialuit knowledge keepers and founders of E. Gruben’s Transport. Gruben holds a BFA from the University of Victoria, BC as well as diplomas in Fine Art, Creative Writing, and Indigenous Leadership from the En’owkin Centre, Penticton, BC.

https://www.maureengruben.com/

About Up Front:

In partnership with the Inuit Art Foundation, Onsite Gallery presents Up Front, a series of commissioned digital murals by Inuit artists. Onsite Gallery recognizes the important contributions of the Inuit art sector and is pleased to work with the IAF to support Inuit art and artists in the public realm.

Up Front: Inuit Public Art @ Onsite Gallery is made possible with the support from the City of Toronto’s Indigenous Arts and Culture Partnership Fund, and the Toronto Friends of the Visual Arts.