Maureen Gruben (born 1963) is a Canadian Inuvialuk artist working in sculpture, installation and public art. In her practice, polar bear fur, beluga whale intestines and sealskin meet resins, vinyl, bubble wrap and metal tape, creating critical connections between life in the Western Canadian Arctic and global environmental and cultural issues.
Gruben was born and raised in Tuktoyaktuk, where her parents were carriers of traditional knowledge and founders of E. Gruben's Transport. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) from the University of Victoria and has exhibited regularly in Canada and internationally. She was longlisted for the 2019 Aesthetica Art Prize and the 2021 Sobey Art Prize, and her work is included in national and private collections.
Seal In Our Blood
Harp seal skin, red velvet, thread
Length 9600 mm, 25 mm diameter, 2018
Installation view from Libby Leshgold Gallery, Vancouver, Canada
(Courtesy of the artist © Maureen Gruben)
Photo: Kyra Kordoski
Aidainnaqduammi
Video, 3 min 58 sec, 2020
Aidainnaqduammi, Aurora
Photo: Kyra Kordoski, print on aluminium, 1200 × 800 mm, 2020
Aidainnaqduammi, Morning
Photo: Kyra Kordoski, print on aluminium, 1200 × 800 mm, 2020
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