Martin Puryear

Martin Puryear (American, born 1941)

Creating minimalist, organic forms with the goals of “purity and simplicity” that highlight his skill as a woodworker, Martin Puryear worked and studied in both Sierra Leone and Sweden before earning his MFA from Yale in 1971. Choosing materials that have significance in African American history and culture, Puryear’s abstract sculptures subtly comment on race and life in the United States. He received fellowships from both the National Endowment for the Arts (1978) and the MacArthur Foundation (1989).

Important Source Material:

Princenthal, Nancy, “Puryear’s Tall Tales,” in Art in America, February 2008.

Cook, Greg, “From This Sculptor, an Elegant Retrospective in Wood, Wire,” in The Boston Globe, 16 December 2007.

TAL