Martin Puryear
1941–
When Martin Puryear began his career in the late 1960s, he worked in a variety of mediums, including painting, printmaking, and drawing, before shifting to the predominantly abstract sculptures for which he is best known. His lifelong interest in diverse cultures and natural history prompted him to travel, work, and study on several continents. He learned wood craftsmanship techniques while in the Peace Corps in Sierra Leone, printmaking at the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts in Stockholm, and finally honed his artistic practice at Yale University.
The Ring series—comprised of approximately thirty wall-mounted, circular wood sculptures that the artist created between 1978 and 1985—calls upon his previous training in two-dimensional methods. The circles, he explained, “are about line,” and represent “drawing with wood.” Puryear fashioned the forms by bending, gluing, or shaving wood into purposefully imperfect circles. Ardea is abstract in composition, yet its title, derived from the scientific name for the genus that includes the great blue heron, suggests a reference to the near-circular curve of that bird’s neck. To achieve its arching form, Puryear implemented a technique called lamination that required him to carefully layer thin strips of pine and cedar. Although each Ring sculpture is unique, the repetitive format recalls the serial production of Minimalism, the sculptural mode Puryear credits with legitimizing “the power of the simple, single thing.” Unlike his predecessors, who championed outsourced fabrication, however, the sculptor in these works balances the fluidity of found organic forms with the individually constructed object. For Puryear, “The physical act of making a work of art is essential.”
Introduction
Martin L. Puryear (born May 23, 1941) is an American artist known for his devotion to traditional craft. Working in a variety of media, but primarily wood, his reductive technique and meditative approach challenge the physical and poetic boundaries of his materials. The artist's Liberty/Libertà exhibition represented the United States at the 2019 Venice Biennale.
Wikidata identifier
Q6776418
Information from Wikipedia, made available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License . Accessed July 5, 2025.
Introduction
Martin Puryear is one of the leading African-American abstract sculptors. He received a bachelor of fine arts degree from the Catholic University of America. In 1963 he joined the Peace Corps in Sierra Leone. In West Africa, he gained appreciation for craft. This is evidenced by his use of materials such as wood, rope, leather and hide to create post-Minimalist sculptures that reflect organic forms. African-American abstract sculptor. Uses materials such as wood, rope, leather and hide to create post-Minimalist sculptures that reflect organic forms.
Country of birth
United States
Roles
Artist, graphic artist, installation artist, mixed-media artist, painter, sculptor
ULAN identifier
500009936
Names
Martin Puryear
Information from the Getty Research Institute's Union List of Artist Names ® (ULAN), made available under the ODC Attribution License. Accessed July 5, 2025.
