A Northern Alaska Contemporary Inupiaq Artist
Larry Ahvakana is a very talented and respected artist in Alaska and the Pacific Northwest. His works have been represented in many prestigious museums including the Smithsonian, the Anchorage Museum of History and Art in Anchorage, Alaska, the Burke Museum in Seattle, Washington, and the Institute of American Indian Art Museum in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Mr. Ahvakana has been working as an artist for over 30 years. He is a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, RI; the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, NM; and Cooper Union School of Art in New York, NY.
He was an instructor of sculpture and glass at the Institute of American Indian Art, and served as the head of the Sculpture Studio at the Visual Arts Center in Anchorage, Alaska. He also taught glass blowing in Barrow in 1973-74, and at the Institute of American Indian Arts from 1977 to 1980. In 1985, he was the Artist in Residence at the Pilchuck Glass School in Stanwood, WA.
Larry is recognized as an outstanding national scuptor, best known for his Inuit or Inupiaq figures and animals. He is proficient in many mediums including wood, stone, glass, paper & pigment, marble, ivory and cast bronze. His images, with their nearly minimalist, clean lines, have been said to provide an almost reverent presence.
Larry Ahvakana is a very talented and respected artist in Alaska and the Pacific Northwest. His works have been represented in many prestigious museums including the Smithsonian, the Anchorage Museum of History and Art in Anchorage, Alaska, the Burke Museum in Seattle, Washington, and the Institute of American Indian Art Museum in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Mr. Ahvakana has been working as an artist for over 30 years. He is a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, RI; the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, NM; and Cooper Union School of Art in New York, NY.
He was an instructor of sculpture and glass at the Institute of American Indian Art, and served as the head of the Sculpture Studio at the Visual Arts Center in Anchorage, Alaska. He also taught glass blowing in Barrow in 1973-74, and at the Institute of American Indian Arts from 1977 to 1980. In 1985, he was the Artist in Residence at the Pilchuck Glass School in Stanwood, WA.
Larry is recognized as an outstanding national scuptor, best known for his Inuit or Inupiaq figures and animals. He is proficient in many mediums including wood, stone, glass, paper & pigment, marble, ivory and cast bronze. His images, with their nearly minimalist, clean lines, have been said to provide an almost reverent presence.
Personal Statement
I was born in Fairbanks, Alaska but my lineage is Inupiaq/Eskimo of the Barrow and Point Hope areas. I was raised in Barrow and Anchorage, Alaska. My first introduction to the Arts was watching my mother, a very competent skin sewer. My Inupiaq culture, including the ceremonies, songs, dances, and oral tradition, has been important to me all my life. My work is my interpretation of my emotional connection and my respect for the land, the environment of the North Slope of Alaska. With my designs, I try to incorporate a sense of my culture. The interpretation is very personal and the concepts, I hope, will give one some essence of the Inupiaq culture and traditions.
I was born in Fairbanks, Alaska but my lineage is Inupiaq/Eskimo of the Barrow and Point Hope areas. I was raised in Barrow and Anchorage, Alaska. My first introduction to the Arts was watching my mother, a very competent skin sewer. My Inupiaq culture, including the ceremonies, songs, dances, and oral tradition, has been important to me all my life. My work is my interpretation of my emotional connection and my respect for the land, the environment of the North Slope of Alaska. With my designs, I try to incorporate a sense of my culture. The interpretation is very personal and the concepts, I hope, will give one some essence of the Inupiaq culture and traditions.