The shock is wearing off for Leo Arcand but the reality is still slowly setting in. One of his soapstone carvings was gifted to American President Barack Obama by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during the Canadian leader’s first official state visit this week.
Sculptor Arcand had no idea until his gallery called him to offer the amazing news.
“I had no idea what was going on,” he laughed. “It was going to be this gift so they had to keep it hush-hush, him being a world leader. ‘Did you hear the news?’”
“I believe that the Trudeau government was shopping for art. They were apparently doing business with the Bearclaw Gallery. They needed a selection of works and some of my work was selected.”
Originally from Alexander First Nations reserve, the 47-year-old sculptor now has a studio based on the Driftpile Cree Nation near Slave Lake. He’s been represented by the Bearclaw for almost 20 years now. His carvings draw on his spirituality to depict the balance between humans and the animal kingdom. Works like Spiritual Union show the faces of a man and a bison under the wings of an eagle.
“I do not produce art, nor do I create it. I discover the spirit of each stone and together we decide its message,” he writes in his artist’s statement on the gallery’s website.
Courage, the title of the piece that is now likely resting somewhere on the Obamas’ bookshelves, follows a similar motif. It’s a profound work that exudes elements of strength, stability and peace.
After the news came out, he soon found himself inundated with media requests that took him the better part of two days to fulfil.
“It’s been a little overwhelming,” he said, sounding a bit flummoxed, then quickly adding, “It’s about time!”
He suspects that his popularity might see a boost from this lucky break.
“I hope so … and then some. I’m going to be busy,” he said during a phone interview from the Bearclaw where he was in the middle of conducting two other interviews at the same time. “I gotta rush back to my studio and get back to work.”
He does consider this to be an amazing and rare honour indeed.
“I know, eh?” the humble artist admitted. “I’ve never had something quite like this happen to me before.”
