Since the 1970s, Martin Puryear (American, born 1941) has captivated audiences with his stunning and thought-provoking works, drawing inspiration from global culture, social history, and the natural world. This fall, The High Museum in Atlanta will serve as the exclusive Southeast venue for the most extensive exhibition of his career in over two decades. The show features more than 70 works made from a diverse range of materials and mediums, including sculptures in wood, glass, marble, and cast bronze, alongside rarely displayed drawings and prints. The exhibition has received critical acclaim during its earlier presentations by co-organizers, The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and the Cleveland Museum of Art, and marks its final stop in Atlanta.
Titled Nexus, the exhibition follows Puryear’s artistic explorations of form, material, and process over the past 50 years. It includes drawings from his time in Sierra Leone during his Peace Corps service and sculptures showcased in Liberty/Libertà, Puryear’s celebrated U.S. Pavilion exhibition at the 2019 Venice Biennale. The exhibition offers a fresh perspective on Puryear’s influential body of work, highlighting his engagement with material culture, craft traditions, African American history, and science. It also powerfully reveals the expressive and interpretive potential of his art, which demands attention and introspection through its masterful craft, enigmatic forms, and quiet poetic beauty.
