Ahmoo Angeconeb

A Man From the Bear Totem

Sculpture from the Permanent Collection

This exhibition is a selection of sculptural objects from our Permanent Collection made of wood, stone, metal, and bone. The presentation was inspired by two wood and copper sculptures called Man From the Bear Totem and Man from the Bear Totem in a Box (1993) by the artist and printmaker Ahmoo Angeconeb (1955 – 2017).

image: Man From the Bear Totem, Wood and Copper , 1993

These pieces were crafted out of plywood and copper while Angeconeb was experimenting with a cutaway technique that he would later use to craft the two iconic metal sculptures Man from Caribou Totem and Man from Caribou Totem in a Box (1995) that greet you on the front lawn of the Gallery.

Also featured in this display are several sculptural works selected from our Permanent Collection.

Each of these objects, big and small, plays with positive and negative space. Woman dancing II (1982) and Eagle Spirit Rising in the Smoke and Fire (1982) move from figuration towards abstraction.

These pieces also share a relationship to the carving of stone, metals, wood, and bone as a traditional practice.