Charlie Ugyuk was born near Gjoa Haven in 1931, often spending time between King William Island and the Boothia Peninsula. In 1970, Ugyuk and his family moved to Taloyoak, formerly known as Spence Bay. He comes from an artistic family, with his brothers Judas Ullulaq, Nelson Takkirup, Joata Suqslak, and Stephen Aqqaq all carving as well. Ugyuk and all of his brothers were included in the Winnipeg Art Museum’s 1997 exhibition and catalogue titled Art and Expression of the Netsilik. 

Ugyuk started his carving career in 1966, primarily making falcons and polar bears from stone and ivory inlay. Until the early 1980s, his style was predominantly realism. Later in the 1980s and into the 1990s, Ugyuk started carving intentionally grotesque shaman figures in response to the Christian idea of shamans as evil and demonic, which he was introduced to by missionaries. Ugyuk blends traditional Inuit and more recently introduced Christian models of spirituality in his work, creating a unique and interesting personal style.

Exhibitions

• Bering Sea to Baffin Bay, The Arctic Circle
• Brothers: Nelson Takkiruq, Judas Ullulaq, Charlie Ugyuk, Gallery Indigena
• Building on Strengths: New Inuit Art from the Collection, Winnipeg Art Gallery
• Immaginario Inuit Arte e cultura degli esquimesi canadesi, Galleria d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea
• Inspiration Four Decades of Sculpture, Marion Scott Gallery
• Inuit Art at Rideau Hall, Presented by Indian Affairs and Northern Development
• Inuit Masterworks, Inuit Gallery of Vancouver
• Keeping Our Stories Alive: An Exhibition of the Art and Crafts from Dene and Inuit of Canada, Institute of American Indian Arts Museum
• Kitikmeot, Inuit Gallery of Vancouver
• Kitikmeot-Land of the Spirits, Inuit Gallery of Vancouver
• Kitikmeot: Sculpture from Gjoa Haven, Taloyoak and Pelly Bay, Isaacs/Innuit Gallery
• Kunst van de Inuit Eskimo's, Gemeentelijk Kunstcentrum Huis Hellemans
• Sculpture of the Inuit: Lorne Balshine Collection/Lou Osipov Collection/ Dr. Harry Winrob Collection, Surrey Art Gallery
• Spence Bay Sculpture, Inuit Gallery of Vancouver
• Spence Bay Sculpture by Ooloolah and Ugjuk, Gallery Indigena
• Spirit of the Birds, Gallery of the Arctic
• The Hand, The Innuit Gallery of Eskimo Art
• The Inuit Imagination, Winnipeg Art Gallery
• Useful Bits of Bone, Winnipeg Art Gallery
• White Sculpture of the Inuit, Simon Fraser Gallery, Simon Fraser University

Collections

• Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto
• Canadian Museum of Civilization, Hull
• Inuit Cultural Institute, Rankin Inlet
• Klamer Family Collection, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto
• Sarick Collection, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto
• Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg

Publications

• CLYDE RIVER — Sculpture, Author: Canadian Arctic Producers, Publication: Ottawa: Canadian Arctic Producers Cooperative Limited. (1980)