Wednesday, July 6, 2016

Wednesday Artist: Martin Puryear


My work has a potential for evolution and change 
and open-endednesswhich to me feels resonant 
with what it is to live a life.
~ Martin Puryear


Today's Wednesday Artist column takes a look at the making of sculptor Martin Puryear's remarkable Big Bling (2016), on view in New York City's Madison Square Park through January 8, 2017. In May 2017, the sculpture will be on exhibit for six months at the Association for Public Art, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Read the details about that installation.)

The public outdoor sculpture, the largest Puryear has created to date, is 40 feet tall; its materials include wood and chain link fencing, as well as fiberglass and a gold shackle. Puryear worked with a group of experts including a specialty lumber manufacturer to execute his design.



My thanks to Art21 for the video.


Puryear's work currently may be seen in the Smithsonian American Art Museum's exhibition "Martin Puryear: Multiple Dimensions", continuing through September 5. View the online art gallery for the show. On August 4, SAAM sculpture curator Karen Lemmey and GSA fine arts specialist Bill Caine are scheduled to give a Gallery Talk at 5:30 p.m., about Puryear's Bearing Witness (1994). An exhibition catalogue is available. 

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