Floyd Kuptana Inuvialuit, 1964-2021

Floyd Kuptana was a prolific Toronto, ON-based artist from Paulatuuq (Paulatuk), Inuvialuit Settlement Region, NT, who worked in sculpture, painting and collage. In the early 1990s, Kuptana began to focus on making his own work, creating increasingly complex sculptural forms. His work engaged with Inuit spirituality by juxtaposing humour with frightening imagery to share narratives of haunting spirits and bumbling figures.  Later in his career, Kuptana explored painting. In his two-dimensional works, he continued to combine humour with horror by depicting the spirit world’s appearance in daily life.

Kuptana’s work has been recognized in exhibitions across Canada, the United States and Europe. His work is also held in public collections at the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto, ON, the Cerny Inuit Collection in Bern, Switzerland and the Winnipeg Art Gallery in Winnipeg, MB.