Born in Kinngait, Nujalia Quvianaqtuliaq began his career as a graphic artist and printmaker in 2014 as an apprentice at Kinngait Studios. Known for his refined and synthetic depictions of Arctic landscapes, the artist captures the vastness of the northern territory with unique sensitivity and deep reverence for his homeland.
Through his drawings, Nujalia reveals the grand and little-known panoramas of the Foxe Peninsula, located at the southern tip of Baffin Island. He portrays the infinite beauty of these vast spaces in all their variations, from dawn to dusk and through the changing seasons. His muted, sensual, and solemn landscapes illustrate the rolling tundra, rocky hills sometimes adorned with greenery or pristine snow, and mountain plateaus from which waterfalls and cascading streams flow into winding rivers that meander through valleys before merging with the icy waters of the Arctic. Though often deserted, these majestic expanses are occasionally animated by the presence of local wildlife, such as polar bears and owls, or punctuated by human campsites.
To structure his landscapes and create a sense of perspective, Nujalia uses bold, contrasting tones. His technique of saturating the paper with crosshatched colored pencil strokes evokes printmaking and lends his works remarkable texture and depth. With his unique framing, vibrant color fields, and the spiritual atmosphere that imbues his compositions, his minimalist works sometimes verge on abstraction, evoking the Color Field painting of Rothko, Newman, or Frankenthaler.
The artist has participated in national and international exhibitions, and his work has been acquired by Hermès International and the Canada Council Art Bank, among others.
